Our Scans · Water · Weekly Summary

• [New] The approximately 500 TWh of energy and 560 billion liters of water consumed by data centers in 2025 is expected to double by 2030. Travers Smith
• [New] Extreme droughts in East and Southeast Asia have limited purified water availability for semiconductor fabrication and copper ore processing in key South American mining regions, exposing vulnerabilities throughout high-tech supply chains. GOV.UK
• [New] Amazon has set a target of becoming water positive by 2030, meaning it would return more water to communities than it consumes. Crypto Briefing
• [New] The water usage, we are told, is 75% of the way to Amazon's goal - announced in 2022 - of being water positive by 2030. theregister
• [New] Strong El Nino years often see an increase in East Pacific hurricane activity due to a combination of increased fuel (via elevated water temperatures) and decreased inhibition (via decreased vertical wind shear), and in 2026 will likely follow that pattern. Piedmont Exedra
• [New] Rapidly growing cities like Izmir, Turkey, are implementing site-specific models to capture water for dry seasons and reduce flood risk. Resilience
• [New] By 2030, AI's energy use could double to consume 3% of the world's electricity, produce emissions to equal the UK and deplete more water for cooling than the annual drinking water need of the global population. Live Science
• [New] By comparison, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire & the Humber will be less vulnerable to severe water stress. Kingfisher group
• [New] The coastal city, Texas' eighth largest city, is staring down a persistent drought that has placed it on course to being the first U.S. city to run short of water sometime in 2027. The Texas Tribune
• [New] By reactor type, the light water reactors segment was the second-largest shareholder in 2025 and is expected to grow at the fastest rate between 2026 and 2035. Precedence Research
• [New] The EPA will fund USD 1 billion under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help out with the implementation of PFAS testing and treatments in public water systems. DataMIntelligence
• [New] The final rule on the PFAS drinking water regulation will be able to protect more than 100 million individuals from exposure to PFAS chemicals, and prevent several deaths and severe illnesses as well. DataMIntelligence
• [New] England expects to meet around 50-60 per cent of its 5 billion l/d shortfall by reducing water demand. CIWEM
• [New] A recent AWWA analysis titled Beyond the Replacement Era: Balancing Compounding Infrastructure Needs with Household Availability shows that drinking water infrastructure needs will exceed $2.1 trillion over the next 25 years, requiring a 168% annual increase in capital investment. Municipal Sewer and Water
• [New] Worldwide, three-quarters of people could face drought impacts by 2050 all while datacenters use 9.3 tn liters of water in the coming decade, enough to meet the drinking water needs of the planet's human population for over a year, the United Nations has estimated. The Guardian
• [New] The multiplying datacenters across the US are set to demand as much as 73bn gallons of water a year by 2028, up from about 17bn gallons in 2023. The Guardian
• [New] Direct cooling water consumption by US data centers reached about 66 billion liters, near 17.4 billion gallons, in 2023, and is projected to climb steeply by 2028 (LBNL, 2024, as the primary source; restated in AWWA, 2025, and Environmental Law Institute, 2026). RefIndustry
• [New] Climate change has aggravated water stress and may cause significant danger to global health and productivity, and will continue to do so as global temperatures rise and weather patterns change. ClimateCheck
• [New] Around 700 million people worldwide suffer from water scarcity, a number that is predicted to rapidly increase in coming decades. ClimateCheck
• [New] Worst affected will be people living in the Middle East, where 95% are forecast to face water shortages. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] El Nino could have severe consequences for India's cities, most notably its film and financial capital of Mumbai which relies solely on seven rain-fed lakes to provide water for its more than 22 million inhabitants. The Guardian

Last updated: 21 June 2026