AI boom means regulator cannot predict future water shortages in England

Datacentres, which do not have to report amount of water used to cool servers, leave Environment Agency with no idea of shortfallsThe artificial intelligence boom means the Environment Agency has no idea how much water England will be short of in future decades, as datacentres do not have to report how much they are using to cool their servers.England’s public water supply could be short by 5bn litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to future-proof resources, the government environment regulator has warned, with a shortfall of a further 1bn litres a day for farming, energy generation and powering emerging technologies. Continue reading...

Jun 17, 2025 - 08:54
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AI boom means regulator cannot predict future water shortages in England

Datacentres, which do not have to report amount of water used to cool servers, leave Environment Agency with no idea of shortfalls

The artificial intelligence boom means the Environment Agency has no idea how much water England will be short of in future decades, as datacentres do not have to report how much they are using to cool their servers.

England’s public water supply could be short by 5bn litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to future-proof resources, the government environment regulator has warned, with a shortfall of a further 1bn litres a day for farming, energy generation and powering emerging technologies. Continue reading...