The role of data centres in addressing the UK’s water crisis

England is on the verge of a water availability crisis. Driven by climate change and population growth, the nation faces a five billion litre public water shortage by 2055 without urgent action being taken.

In response, the government has outlined several key recommendations, including 10 new reservoirs and seven new water recycling schemes that will need to be built by 2050 to meet demand. With infrastructure central to solving the crisis, what role can the data centre sector play?

The current pressures on water resources

The National Framework for Water Resources 2025 details where England is heading in terms of the water supply deficit. Alongside less frequent summer rainfall, the nation’s population is projected to increase to over 71 million people by 2055. This pressure will equate to increased water demand for appliances, energy generation, food production and the cooling of data centres.

Data centres will only become more central to the nation’s economy by 2055, supporting both the private and public sectors with reliable access to data, services and applications. This is placing extra demands on servers within data centres, thereby ramping up the electricity and water needed to maintain server performance and cooling systems.

A sustainable future for water

Where more water may be needed for cooling purposes, the responsibility lies with the industry to adopt recycling practices and reduce waste. One of the first steps will be considering the local availability of water when in the planning stage of building a new site, ensuring that drawing from local supplies will not have a detrimental impact on the local community.

The next key step will be the adoption of more sustainable water supply systems. For example, using recycled or non-potable water when possible, reducing the reliance on drinkable water that homes in England rely on. One of the most environmentally responsible sources is rainwater. Crown Hosting uses Ark‘s data centres which capture fallen rainwater from roofs and the ‘run-off’ from car parks, which is then filtered and stored for use, significantly reducing water usage.

Other measures being adopted in the data centre industry to reduce the reliance on water are closed-loop cooling systems. These systems continuously recirculate a fixed volume of water to achieve a sufficient level of cooling, rather than replenishing water levels from an external source. Closed-loop capabilities are a key feature of innovative liquid-cooled systems, which use ambient air to cut energy and carbon.

To ensure new and existing facilities support sustainability goals, designing data centres in line with recognised standards such as BS EN50600, as well as aligning with the principles of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNDCP), can help ensure responsible use of resources, especially water.

Ensuring a sustainable future for water also relies on accurate reporting. Ark and Crown Hosting data centres provide customers with insights about their operations, which include electricity, carbon and water usage. This data can empower businesses to make better, more informed decisions and enhance their sustainable credentials.

Protecting water supplies while meeting the nation’s digital needs

With an increasingly urgent water shortage on the horizon, every sector, including data centres, must play a part in the solution. With digital infrastructure demand set to grow, the industry can lead by example in how it sources, uses and reports on water usage, whether it’s via site planning, the smart use of non-potable water or even advanced closed-loop cooling systems. With these initiatives and technologies in place, data centres can help protect future water supplies while meeting the nation’s digital needs.