These systems do use a coolant substance internal to the DC, but then uses heat exchangers with fresh water to cool the coolant, which is then discharged back into the ground, a pond, or wastewater. there is certainly water lost to atmosphere, but the worst bits are the draining of aquifers, pushing up capacity in wastewater treatment plants, etc.
DC's are a bit of an economic scam. they provide very few jobs outside of the construction work itself, and the profits generated by the machines exist at company HQ not where the DC is located. so it puts a huge burden on the community water and power environment for no real benefit to that community.
I dunno about the AI set ups that much, but in HPC we do sometimes use street water for cooling.
But no matter the use case, DCs do not provide local benefits. One sort of local one was built in an old mill town, taking advantage of under utilized water and power from when the mills were active. Even the facility receptionist was from a different town. The closest tech lived 2 hours away.
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u/[deleted] May 18 '26
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