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First, Google wanted a tax break. Now, they want our water (www.thegazette.com)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Tom Mohan

May. 6, 2024 10:10 am

Thanks to Erin Jordan for her informative and alarming April 28 article, “Google data center would be among Cedar Rapids’ largest water and energy user.“ So now Google wants to take our water?

I believe like many Iowans, that clean water is a human right. It must be available and affordable for all. And it ought to be used wisely, sustainably and for the benefit of all.

Google is one of the largest and most profitable multinational corporations in the world. It wants to draw perhaps up to a million gallons of water daily from our city water supply to cool their behemoth complex. I say perhaps because we don’t really know because they haven’t made public their plans. And they want to do this during a historic drought. A drought over three and a half years old which the Department of Natural Resources has labeled the longest in Iowa since the 1950s.

As Jordan points out, how will this affect residential water rates? How will it deplete our city and statewide water resources? For me, it also comes down to whose interest is being served here. Are our increasingly precious water resources being used for the public good or for private, corporate gain? This sure seems reckless and irresponsible to me. Will their Silicon Valley dreams evaporate into Death Valley days for all of us soon? Surely, our decision-makers can do better than this!

Tom Mohan

Cedar Rapids

Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to [email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I don't understand. where does the water go? are they using evaporative cooling?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Depending on the local climate, yes - evap cooling is typically the go. The data centres I work in here in Melbourne use evap free cooling (EFC).

For much of the year, due to our temperate climate, the cooling simply uses (filtered) outside air. During bouts of warmer weather (typically 29C+), we use evaporative cooling. Waste water from the EFCs is discharged into storm water drainage, and reported to our local water authority for billing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

This might be a stupid question, but I‌ wonder why they (datacenters) can't recover the water they use especially if it's in the order of magnitude that it significantly impacts water resources in their area.

I might be missing something big here, but I am imagining water-cooled systems that transfers heat to the water, but the water is otherwise unused. This water might not be able to be fed back (to the water sources in the area) as is, but it can be cleaned up and cooled down, and then be used for other purposes, right?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

An excellent question, that I suspect the answer to will vary in many jurisdictions.

We do re-use the water we use in our EFCs, but only a limited number of times. After a specified number of uses, local regulations require that we discharge it into storm water, to mitigate against the risk of things like legionella and other potentially deadly airborne bacteria.

We’re also required to test and treat all stored water monthly.

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