With data centres’ thirst for cooling threatening water supply, SPAN pushes for urgent conservation measures and alternative sources

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has today called on local councils to ensure all new data centre developments include plans for alternative water supplies, warning that reliance on treated water for cooling systems will become unsustainable within three to five years.

Its chairman Charles Santiago said with 52 data centres in Johor and 27 in Selangor — and many more in development — there is a need for immediate action to prevent water shortages during droughts or as a result of climate change.

“Before the local councils give approvals to build these centres which can be large scale, they must make sure to state to investors and respective parties the existence of rainwater harvesting, including clean water.

“It cannot be an afterthought,” Charles said at a press conference at SPAN headquarters here.

Data centres currently use treated water — the same resource essential for drinking and cooking — to cool the intense heat generated by servers and electronic devices.

Charles said any large-scale rainwater harvesting must be integrated into the initial planning stages of a building, as failing to include such measures could lead to severe water shortages in the future.

He said the rapid expansion of data centres, driven by their appeal to investors, demands significant cooling resources, making it unsustainable to rely solely on clean treated water meant for consumption.

SPAN chairman Charles Santiago urges companies to prepare alternative sources of water and cooling mechanisms. — Picture courtesy of SPAN

Charles highlighted the alarming rise in water demand driven by data centres, particularly in Johor districts such as Johor Baru, Iskandar Puteri, Sedenak, Kulai/Senai, Pasir Gudang, and Pontian.

Current requests for water there has so far reached 440 million litres per day until 2035, an increase of 23 per cent from 2023.

Utility provider Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd estimated that water requests will even rise until 614 million litres per day during that same period.

In comparison, in Selangor, the demand for treated water until 2032 is 79 million litres per day. This is equivalent to approximately 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Charles cautioned that prolonged droughts, exacerbated by climate change, could cripple operations and disrupt water supply for the public. To address the issue, SPAN proposed several measures to ensure sustainable water usage:

• Reclaimed water: Utilise treated effluent from sewage treatment plants for cooling systems, reducing reliance on treated water.
• Efficient cooling technology: Adopt advanced cooling technologies to minimise water consumption.
• Rainwater harvesting systems: Implement rainwater collection systems for non-drinking purposes.
• Water recirculation: Introduce recirculation systems to recycle and reuse water, modelled on Singapore’s Cycle of Concentration benchmarks.
• Real-time monitoring: Use real-time monitoring and measurement systems to track and optimise water efficiency.

Charles said the federal government can set policies on the operations for a data centre so it can review the amount of water it needs and reduce the impact on the environment and the shared water source.

“The state government must ensure there’s adequate raw water supply before approvals are given, especially in high-demand areas,” he said, citing Selangor’s zero-discharge policy as an example to emulate.

He also urged federal and state governments to collaborate on water development projects to provide a reliable water supply, and for water suppliers to establish usage limits for data centres and assess their contingency plans for potential disruptions and droughts.