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Data Centers Drain Batam's Water: Locals Face Drought
13 Oct
Summary
- Batam residents protested for water as data centers used supply.
- Data center water consumption is often proprietary information.
- Batam faces water shortages, exacerbated by El Niño and data center demand.
Residents of Batam, Indonesia, have protested the continued water supply to data centers in Nongsa Digital Park while their own taps have run dry for three months. Villages like Bakau Serip now depend on tanker trucks delivering dirty water. Authorities attribute the shortages to a dry spell, but locals suspect data centers are diverting water meant for homes.
This situation underscores a global trend of increasing water and energy consumption by data centers, crucial for AI infrastructure. Research suggests a single data center can consume as much water as 1,000 households daily. While specific figures for Batam remain unclear, the island's reservoirs are under pressure, worsened by a historic El Niño.
Batam aims to be a digital hub, attracting billions in investment, partly due to its proximity to Singapore, which has imposed stricter efficiency standards on data centers. This has driven investment to regions like Batam and Johor, Malaysia, which have also seen local discontent over resource strain.
Official estimates project power demand from Batam's data centers to exceed 1,100MW by 2030. Residents are urging authorities to prioritize their needs and ensure responsible development, fearing that massive investments should not come at the cost of their basic water supply.
