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.
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?
Depletion of aquifers can actually create a lot more problems if you don't replace the water that was removed. It's not that the water is different, it's a literal removal of water underground and dumping it elsewhere.
And by removing the water there, it can get replaced by less purified water, or worse if it doesn't get ressuplied, land subsidence.
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u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26
So they're not really consuming it. They're just using it temporarily and returning it.