Little secret about datacenter water usage: they actually don't USE nearly as much as they report-- they DRAW a lot of water yes, but they'll only cycle it a few times before giving it back, either through waste pipes or other ways, otherwise you get sediment buildup in the pipes and heatexchangers. The average golf course uses far more water, and actually uses it without returning any of it
And the alternative, is to use energy-heavy AC/heatpumps, which due to public outcry, is happening more.
@kimhoar big datacenters use dozens if not hundreds of megawatts of power, AFAIK there's no way to generate that much electricity onsite without resorting to things like nuclear reactors (is being looked into actually).
The COP (Coefficient Of Performance) with heatpumps ranges from about 2-4 in residential ones to about 5-6 for commercial ones such as used in datacenters. A COP of 6 means you need 1kw for every 6kw of heat you're moving, so even the most efficient ones require many megawatts.
@vxo yea exactly; water (often 'industrial' water and not potable water but depends on availability) is pumped through large radiators/heatexchangers with fans on the floor, and then blown down a evaporative cooling tower with a big fan. It does evaporate a little water, but not much, most of it's usage is 'blowdown', i.e dumped water, to make sure the water in the system doesn't get too high in minerals, which would cause sediment and calcium buildup inside piping and heat exhangers.
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