Webinar Recap | Water Usage in the Data Center: How to Do More with Less

Written by Sara Laws

Summary

Energy and power usage are always key concerns for data center professionals, but water management is growing in importance. Regional water restrictions and rising demand for new cooling solutions have made water usage a key topic of late. In addition, the broader imperative of sustainability means data centers must manage water and reduce environmental impact.

AFCOM’s webinar of November 28 addressed these concerns. Carrie Goetz, Mikeal Vincent, Nolan Foran, and Ryan Gruver discussed the latest advancements in water usage and conservation efforts in the data center. They highlighted the need for innovative cooling technologies and sustainable solutions; the significance of community engagement, including cooperation with local municipalities; and a proactive approach to assessing and planning for future water needs.

Key Takeaways

• Citing the increasing water demand and strict water regulations in various regions, panelists encouraged professionals to explore and adopt water-efficient technologies and practices, like waterless cooling and gray water usage
• Due to the advent of AI, technologies like immersion cooling, direct-to-chip cooling, and using alternative cooling mediums (e.g., seawater, recycled water) are gaining attention, but the adoption of these technologies varies; many data centers still rely on traditional cooling methods
• There's a challenge in integrating new water-efficient technologies with existing infrastructure, mainly due to the high costs and complexities involved in replacing or retrofitting old equipment
• Water conservation and efficient usage are not only about compliance and operational efficiency, but also about being responsible global and local citizens who consider environmental impact
• Panelists called for data centers to collaborate with energy providers to explore renewable energy options
  

Collaboration between Data Centers and Local Municipalities

In some areas like Arizona, water restrictions have impacted building permits and project designs. The panelists discussed how data centers in such water-restricted jurisdictions can adapt to these challenges.

Gruver noted the policies in Chandler, Arizona reflect an industry trend: “they're shutting [new] data centers out.” Construction of new centers has been restrictive around areas that could have a potential groundwater impact. However, “on the positive side,” he said, “we have seen the large hyperscale organizations working with the Salt River project on some of that aquifer groundwater recharge.”

Our webinar panelists emphasized the importance of working with local communities, not just jurisdiction heads, in drought-stricken areas. Vincent recommended evaluating sustainable solutions based on the specific water risks and usage goals of each region. “When we talk about negotiating with cities, I think we need to think broadly about which sustainable solutions fit each jurisdiction,” Vincent said. She suggested that this may mean a mix of air and water cooling and the potential future use of immersion cooling. “Some of the local data centers are even looking into gray water solutions–how they can integrate gray water into their cooling systems and then just supplement with clean water,” Gruver added.

Some data centers are responding by evaluating their water usage effectiveness and making commitments to be “water-positive entities,” Foran said. This could mean working on other civil projects that are “water positive” or demonstrating that centers are conscious of their water usage by reducing footprint or discharge in their facilities.

Water Risk Assessments and Management Plans

Air cooling, immersion, and direct-to-chip are a few solutions that are adaptable to AI servers, but these technologies have yet to be successfully scaled and implemented. Because of this, water management plans, capacity planning, and risk mitigation are crucial.

Vincent highlighted a forecast produced by the Water Resources Group showing that global water demand will surpass sustainable use by 40% by 2030, stressing the need for a forward-looking approach to water management that anticipates future restrictions.

Vincent recommended conducting upfront water risk assessments to determine the allowable water consumptions for specific utilities in a given market. “You can develop a water management plan that looks at capacity and long-term usage to help mitigate the risks that you’ve identified; this can tie into your overall water goals,” she noted. Such a plan also “allows you to tie that into design for your data center” to further assist in understanding consumption. In turn, plans like these can help with cost and investment planning.

Gruver urged that data centers could lead the way in focusing on renewable energy, thereby saving water in both direct operations and energy generation. He suggested that data center operators should consider water usage across energy sources.

Adoption and Scaling of New Cooling Technologies

Because AI necessitates efficient cooling methods, many have noted that immersion cooling is the way of the future. However, technology adoption sometimes comes with limitations or thresholds for water usage.

Vincent noted that traditional cooling methods like chillers and evaporative cooling will likely continue to be used in the near-term. Foran agreed, noting that technology for mass-scale deployment of immersion cooling isn’t fully developed at this point. “We’ve seen Microsoft do some interesting things with the submersibles, where they build a data center in a small submarine and submerge it,” Foran illustrated. Some techniques like this are being reviewed, “but as far as being able to deploy them in a large hyperscale operation with hundreds of megawatts, it’s just not scalable at this point.”

Gruver expects that as heat loads and power densities increase, there will be more adoption of technologies like direct-to-chip and immersion cooling. However, data centers will have to decide precisely how adoption occurs. “Let’s say you’re a DCO trying to retrofit a live data hall with some of this technology,” he said. “I’d be a little concerned about [this] affecting production.” He suggested a hybrid approach that marks out a new area of the data center for retrofitting some of the existing infrastructure.

Assessing Older Equipment with an Eye to Cooling Innovations

Even a hybrid integration approach means assessing older equipment. As data centers transition away from evaporative cooling towards more water-efficient methods, the challenge is finding that balance between adopting new cooling technologies and managing the costs and limitations of older equipment.

Panelists agreed that the shift from evaporative cooling is happening but is not uniform across the industry. Even though it’s possible to get rid of older equipment, "generally it's consolidated into some more massive infrastructure,” Gruver said. At present, Gruver is working on new designs, and yet “I'm still focused on air-cooled chilling right now." He expects a gradual transition to new cooling technologies.

Vincent, who doesn’t usually deal with legacy equipment, believes that due to cost considerations, immersion cooling will likely be more prevalent in new data centers or new halls, rather than being retrofitted to existing equipment.

Rainwater Capture as Water Management Strategy

Panelists agreed that rainwater capture isn’t a primary decision maker, but it can supplement water from municipal utilities.

Gruver commented that in areas where there is a lack of significant rainfall, rainwater capture won’t be a significant factor for data center operations, even in areas where data centers continue to be built.

Foran wants to see more rainwater harvesting, especially in facilities outside arid climates where normal precipitation occurs. In his view, this is an area for improvement in water management strategies; he stated that rainwater harvesting is not as prevalent as it could be.

For Vincent, investment is needed for rainwater capture and treatment. Rainwater capture can help with stormwater runoff pollutants, and Vincent suggested its usefulness for non-potable purposes like irrigation or flushing. “It's an investment that you'll need: to put in rainwater capture, the storage tanks, and the treatment system to be able to reuse it."

AFCOM has made a full recording of this webinar available to AFCOM members. To view it, simply click here.