AI’s latest feat: Depleting drinking water sources around Illinois, Midwest – Chicago Sun-Times

Report on Data Center Water Consumption and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The proliferation of data centers, particularly those supporting artificial intelligence research, presents a significant challenge to sustainable resource management in the Midwestern United States. This expansion directly impacts the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), by placing immense strain on finite freshwater resources. A lack of transparency in water usage agreements between corporations and government bodies further complicates efforts to ensure sustainable water management practices, a core tenet of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Impact on SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Water Scarcity and Stress on Freshwater Ecosystems

The industry’s water consumption is a direct threat to SDG Target 6.4, which calls for substantially increasing water-use efficiency and ensuring sustainable withdrawals to address water scarcity. Key concerns include:

• Projected Consumption: Data centers are forecast to consume over 150 billion gallons of water in the U.S. within the next five years, an amount sufficient to supply 4.6 million homes.
• Groundwater Depletion: Communities such as Joliet, Illinois, are already experiencing water shortages, compelling them to invest over $1 billion in sourcing Lake Michigan water due to depleted local aquifers. This trend undermines the goal of sustainable water access for all.
• Great Lakes Vulnerability: Increased reliance on the Great Lakes is a critical concern, as this ecosystem is a finite resource with only 1% of its volume replenished annually. Over-extraction threatens the long-term health of this vital freshwater source, conflicting with SDG 6’s mandate to protect and restore water-related ecosystems.

Challenges to Governance and Transparency

Effective water management, central to SDG 6, is impeded by a lack of public information. Secrecy agreements between government entities and data center operators prevent the disclosure of water withdrawal volumes. This lack of transparency hinders accountability and the development of informed public policy. A proposed Illinois bill to mandate the public disclosure of data center energy and water usage failed to advance, highlighting a significant governance gap in aligning industrial development with sustainability objectives.

Intersection with Other Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 9, 11, and 12: Infrastructure, Communities, and Responsible Consumption

The data center boom exists at the nexus of several SDGs, creating complex trade-offs between economic growth and environmental stewardship.

1. SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): While data centers represent modern infrastructure essential for the digital economy, their current operational model is often at odds with the goal of building resilient and sustainable infrastructure.
2. SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): The pursuit of economic development through state and local subsidies for data centers can inadvertently compromise community access to essential resources like water, as seen in the Midwest. This creates a direct conflict with the goal of making human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
3. SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): The industry’s high water consumption represents an unsustainable pattern of natural resource use. Achieving SDG 12 requires a fundamental shift towards production models that decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.

Recommendations for Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals

Technological Innovation and Water Management Strategies

Industry representatives state a commitment to water efficiency. Aligning with SDG 6 and SDG 9 requires the widespread adoption of innovative solutions, including:

• Utilizing recycled or reclaimed water, such as municipal wastewater or stormwater, which is not suitable for drinking.
• Implementing closed-loop cooling systems that significantly reduce water withdrawal.
• Investing in and deploying waterless cooling technologies.

Policy and Governance for Sustainable Development

To ensure that industrial growth supports, rather than undermines, the SDGs, robust policy frameworks are necessary. Key actions include:

1. Enhance Transparency: Mandate the public disclosure of water and energy usage in all development agreements with data centers to enable effective monitoring and management, in line with SDG Target 17.16 (Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development).
2. Implement Sustainable Regulation: Pass legislation that establishes clear environmental performance standards for data centers concerning water and energy consumption.
3. Promote Integrated Planning: State and local governments must integrate water resource management into economic development strategies, ensuring that incentives for industrial growth are conditional on adherence to sustainability principles.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  The article’s primary focus is on the “Depletion of drinking water supplies” due to the high water consumption of data centers. It discusses water scarcity, the stress on water systems like the Great Lakes and groundwater, and the need for sustainable water management, which are central themes of SDG 6.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  Data centers are a form of industrial infrastructure. The article addresses the sustainability of this industry, highlighting its massive consumption of water and power. It also points to innovations for sustainability, such as “waterless cooling systems, closed-loop systems and the use of recycled or reclaimed water,” which relates to building resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  The article illustrates the impact of industrial water demand on communities. For example, “Joliet… and nearby communities are purchasing Lake Michigan water from Chicago for more than $1 billion for decades because of a looming shortage.” This highlights the challenge of ensuring communities have access to essential resources like water amidst rapid industrial development.

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  This goal is relevant as the article questions the consumption patterns of the data center industry. The projection that data centers will “use more than 150 billion gallons of water across the U.S. over the next five years” points to a need for more responsible and efficient use of natural resources, a core principle of SDG 12.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

  The article touches upon governance and transparency issues. It states that “the amount of water that’s being withdrawn… is unknown because secrecy agreements between government bodies and companies keep this information from being publicly disclosed.” The failure of a bill proposing that “data center energy and water usage information be made public” points to a lack of transparent and accountable institutions, which is a key aspect of SDG 16.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  • Target 6.3: Improve water quality by increasing recycling and safe reuse. This is directly addressed by the suggestion to use “recyclable water that’s not suitable for drinking,” including “water recycled within a data center, stormwater or even municipal wastewater.”
  • Target 6.4: Substantially increase water-use efficiency and ensure sustainable withdrawals to address water scarcity. The entire article revolves around this target, discussing the massive water usage by data centers, the resulting “stress from increased water demand,” and the industry’s stated goal to “prioritize efficient water practices.”

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  • Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency. This is reflected in the industry’s efforts to invest in and deploy “innovations, such as waterless cooling systems, closed-loop systems and the use of recycled or reclaimed water.”

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  • Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The article’s central theme of data centers consuming vast amounts of a finite resource (water) directly relates to the need for sustainable management and efficiency as outlined in this target.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

  • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The article highlights a failure to meet this target by describing how “secrecy agreements” prevent public disclosure of water usage and how a bill to mandate transparency “was sent to committee and never debated.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For Target 6.4 (Water-use efficiency and water stress)

  • Indicator (Implied): Level of water stress. The article provides data points that measure water withdrawal and its impact, such as the projection of “more than 150 billion gallons of water” to be used over five years and the fact that this is “enough water to supply 4.6 million homes.” The mention of “underground water supplies dry up” and “water systems… showing stress” are qualitative measures of this indicator.
  • Indicator (Implied): Water-use efficiency. Progress could be measured by tracking the adoption of “waterless cooling systems” and “closed-loop systems” and by quantifying the amount of “recycled or reclaimed water” used by data centers, as mentioned in the article.

• For Target 16.6 (Transparent institutions)

  • Indicator (Implied): Public access to information. The article implies a clear way to measure this: the number or percentage of government contracts with data centers that publicly disclose water and energy usage data. The current situation is described as one where this information is kept “from being publicly disclosed,” indicating a low level of transparency. The status of legislation, such as the bill that “was sent to committee and never debated,” also serves as an indicator of institutional accountability.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: chicago.suntimes.com