Google's water consumption for its data centers in 2021Google's Water Usage: Google used more than 16 billion liters of water to maintain its data centers around the world in 2021 alone. This averages to more than 1.7 million liters spent per day in each of the company's data centers. This amount of water could be used to irrigate almost three hectares of grass or to manufacture 160 pairs of jeans.
Regional Breakdown:
According to a report released by Google in November, providers located in the US spent 80% of all the water used by Google's data centers in 2021. This is equivalent to more than 12 billion liters. The statement came shortly after the publication of a report on the water consumption of three Google data centers in The Dalles, Oregon. According to The Oregonian, the company has nearly tripled its water use since 2017. In 2021, Google's data centers in The Dalles used 355 million gallons of water, equivalent to over 1.3 billion liters. This value corresponds to 29% of the city's total water consumption in that year. The municipality of 16,000 inhabitants is located in an area where it is dry most of the year.
Purpose of Water Usage:
Google's data centers require water to cool the hundreds or thousands of computers responsible for keeping the system up and running, from the search engine to the Gmail and Maps tools.
Google's Commitment to Water Management:
In the statement, the company says it is committed to improving the management of water resources at its facilities including campuses, data centers and offices around the world. The goal includes using as little potable water as possible, replacing it with wastewater, industrial water and even seawater. “We use recycled or non-potable water on more than 25% of our data center campuses,” the company noted. The company also added that this commitment complements its ambitious goal of operating on carbon-free energy, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, by 2030.