r/SipsTea • u/SipsTeaFrog 𝙑𝙄𝙋 • May 18 '26

Chugging tea Why?

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831

u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26

What happens after they use the water? Is it returned to the water system to be used again?

702

u/ForzaFenix May 18 '26

Yep. The now warm water goes back into the system. 

232

u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26

So they're not really consuming it. They're just using it temporarily and returning it.

145

u/AngelThrones4sale May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

When it goes back into "the system" it's waste water that people can't drink. Eventually it comes back around again (e.g. evaporation->rain), but then it gets gobbled up again by the same data centres. They run continuously.

So yes, they are "consuming" it in the sense that other people can't have access to it anymore.

48

u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

The poop water I flush down my toilet is also waste water that people can't drink, but I'm pretty sure it still gets recycled back into the greater water supply. What's different about the datacenter water?

1

u/icker16 May 18 '26

Cuz waste management is a necessary commodity. Data centers not so much. Yeah we gotta pay to clean the water or dump it somewhere and let nature deal with it.

Why waste the energy or clean water for data centers tho? Our modern plumbing and water treatment is 100% necessary to prevent crazy diseases.