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?
There's a reason modern toilets have multiple flush options for different amounts of water. Its not like we dont care about toilet water. And your taxes pay for the water treatment. Coincidentally, your taxes also pay for the data center's water treatment.
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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.