UK water supplies insufficient for planned data centre expansion

The UK's ambition to triple data centre capacity by 2030 faces a stark warning from Water UK, the trade body for water companies, which says there is not enough water to support the growth. Data centres in England currently use 6.6 million litres of drinking water daily, a figure that could rise to 19.8 million litres if capacity triples, according to Water UK estimates. Source: The Next Web; Source: The Guardian

The warning

In a briefing to MPs, Water UK described the government's water forecasts as "fatally flawed" and noted that data centres are explicitly excluded from the Environment Agency's national water resources framework. Source: The Guardian The trade body stated, "There appears to be an assumption that the country will always have enough water for its economic needs. Nothing could be further from the truth." Source: The Next Web

Regional strain

The strain is concentrated in the south and east of England, where more than three-quarters of UK data centres are located. In the Affinity Water region alone, around 125 data centres are proposed or under construction, with some requesting up to 3 million litres per day—the equivalent of 3,500 homes. Source: The Next Web This comes as millions in the region face hosepipe bans, which apply to households but not to data centres designated as critical national infrastructure. Source: The Guardian

Policy gaps

Water UK criticized the government's AI growth zone policy for making "not a single mention of water." Source: The Guardian The trade body argues that current planning regulations do not account for commercial users with water demands comparable to market towns. David Henderson, Water UK's chief executive, highlighted that building new reservoirs can take up to 15 years, calling the regulatory system a bottleneck. Without policy change, Water UK warned that new data centre growth in water-stressed areas "may be impossible."