Aug 21, 2026 · 20 min · 8 segments
There has been a lot of negative press lately regarding Datacenters and their use of water. In this Podcast I want to put straight some of the ridiculous accusations around datacenters the biggest…
So let's jump right into the most dramatic headline out there, the claim that data centers are swallowing millions of gallons of fresh water daily, effectively competing with your kitchen tap for the local water supply.
Right.
According to Stuart Priest, this narrative is, and I quote, "utter BS."
Strong words, but mechanically speaking, he backs that statement up brilliantly, especially when we look at the UK context.
Right.
Exactly.
The public misconception here actually stems from applying a very specific outdated technology to the completely wrong geography.
Okay, let's unpack this because the mechanical difference here is really the crux of the whole water myth.
It is.
The idea that a data center drinks millions of gallons of water is based on older evaporative cooling models.
So like the ones you'd see in a desert.
Spot on.
If a company builds a data center in the desert southwest of the United States, where the ambient air temperature routinely hits, you know, forty degrees Celsius historically, they needed evaporative cooling.
'Cause it's just so blazing hot outside.
Right.
And in those systems, you evaporate water into the air to bring the temperature down before that air hits the hot servers.
The process literally consumes water by design, turning it into vapor that just floats away.
Well, the vast majority of modern UK data centers rely on advanced closed loop cooling technology.
It's a totally different paradigm of physics.
Closed loop, meaning it's sealed.
Completely.
During the construction of the facility, water, or sometimes a specialized liquid coolant, is charged into a complex, completely sealed pipe circuit.
Okay, so it goes in once.
So let's jump right into the most dramatic headline out there, the claim that data centers are swallowing millions of gallons of fresh water daily, effectively competing with your kitchen tap for the local water supply.
Right.
According to Stuart Priest, this narrative is, and I quote, "utter BS."
Strong words, but mechanically speaking, he backs that statement up brilliantly, especially when we look at the UK context.
Right.
Exactly.
The public misconception here actually stems from applying a very specific outdated technology to the completely wrong geography.
Okay, let's unpack this because the mechanical difference here is really the crux of the whole water myth.
It is.
The idea that a data center drinks millions of gallons of water is based on older evaporative cooling models.
So like the ones you'd see in a desert.
Spot on.
If a company builds a data center in the desert southwest of the United States, where the ambient air temperature routinely hits, you know, forty degrees Celsius historically, they needed evaporative cooling.
'Cause it's just so blazing hot outside.
Right.
And in those systems, you evaporate water into the air to bring the temperature down before that air hits the hot servers.
The process literally consumes water by design, turning it into vapor that just floats away.
Well, the vast majority of modern UK data centers rely on advanced closed loop cooling technology.
It's a totally different paradigm of physics.
Closed loop, meaning it's sealed.
Completely.
During the construction of the facility, water, or sometimes a specialized liquid coolant, is charged into a complex, completely sealed pipe circuit.
Okay, so it goes in once.
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