‘It’s pillage’: thirsty Uruguayans decry Google’s plan to exploit water supply

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/11/uruguay-drought-water-google-data-center

161 points · 5 comments · view on lemmy.world

5 Comments

LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net · 16 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Why is it necessary to use drinking water for cooling purposes? Can’t they use wastewater or estuary water? Or have some kind of closed loop element?

gramathy@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 3y

Theres usually a closed loop to get water in and out of a building for cooling, but then there’s the actual chiller that uses evaporative cooling (which is very thermally efficient but “consumes” water to function., and if this water isn’t clean it leaves behind all the gunk that was in it. Seawater can’t be used in this way, but you can tuna. Loop to dump the heat into the ocean.

There are other methods too but all of them are going to have a measurable environmental impact. Google just needs to not exploit low power and land costs, and a lack of environmental review and standards, to save a buck on hosting costs.

livus@kbin.social · 2 pts · 3y

According to the article, part of Uruguay is having to use estuary water for drinking water already.

livus@kbin.social · 7 pts · 3y

Water shortages are so severe in the country that a state of emergency has been declared in Montevideo and the authorities have added salty water to the public drinking water supplies, prompting widespread protests.

Critics claim that the government is prioritising water for transnationals and agribusiness at the expense of its own citizens.

I'd have to agree with them. This is really messed up.

The really bizarre part is the Uryguay government already has to give citizens bottled water since water is legally recognized as a human right in Urugyay.