Open Letter to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee – please investigate water use from data centres

We welcome your intention to “scrutinise the breadth of issues confronting the water sector”, including “weak resilience of water supply systems and future water security”. Given the vast amounts of water they use, and the government’s support for rapid expansion, data centres must be included in any examination of water supply and future security. We are concerned that at present there may be critical gaps in policy and oversight.

We understand that there will be many other issues which this inquiry also needs to consider. And we expect that there may be cheerleaders for data centres, in government or allied to Big Tech companies, who will encourage you to skirt over these issues. But, as Foxglove’s evidence sets out, the scale of potential demand for water from data centres has serious implications which need to be rigorously assessed and managed. Your committee has an opportunity to play an important role in this.

In particular, we would encourage your inquiry to find answers to questions such as:

• How much water do existing data centres really use – and how much will be consumed by the gigantic hyperscale data centres being planned?
• How is the government going to keep track of water use from data centres in the future?
• How is the government going to protect our water for homes, farms, business and nature as demand from data centres increases?

We are supporters of the nonprofit Foxglove, which has made a more detailed submission alongside this open letter. We share their concerns and encourage you to consider their evidence in detail.

We will follow your inquiry with great interest.