The UK's datacentre expansion plans for AI development are at risk due to insufficient water resources for cooling.

“The UK will not have enough water for future datacentres, the water industry has said in stark criticism of the government’s AI growth plans. Datacentres rely on large amounts of water to manage the heat generated by densely packed servers. Cooling towers, chillers and humidification systems make direct use of this water, with large volumes also consumed indirectly through high electrical power needs. Water UK, the trade body that represents water companies in Britain and Northern Ireland, said in a publicly available written briefing to MPs that the government’s water forecasts were “fatally flawed” and “explicitly exclude” datacentres. It wrote that the government “makes not a single mention of water” in its policy for delivering AI growth zones, its AI for science strategy or its AI opportunities action plan. It added that the Environment Agency’s most recent national framework for water resources, published in June 2025, also failed to include an estimate of the water demands of datacentres. “There appears to be an assumption that the country will always have enough water for its economic needs,” the briefing said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says #UK #DataCenters #BigTech #AI #Water

Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says #Water #Datacentres #WaterIndustry #AiArtificialIntelligence #Environment #Business #UkNews

Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other > Industry says government’s failure to address cooling demands means AI growth plans are ‘fatally flawed’

Water UK, the trade body that represents water companies in Britain and Northern Ireland, said in a publicly available written briefing to MPs that the government’s water forecasts were “fatally flawed” and “explicitly exclude” datacentres. Well, there's a surprise. #AI #DataCentres #Water #UKPolitics Not enough water for UK’s datacentre plans, trade body says | Water | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says

“ ‘Fatally Flawed Plan’: The #UK will not have enough water for future datacentres, the water industry has said in stark criticism of the government’s #AI growth plans. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/not-enough-water-for-uks-datacentre-plans-trade-body-says