Amazon Web Services is more than halfway to its 2030 goal of being “water positive” — meaning it replenishes more clean water than it uses. Supporting this goal is a newly announced initiative to expand its use of recycled waste water instead of drinking water to cool 120 of its U.S. data centers by the end of this decade.
AWS has significantly improved its water use efficiency by 40% over the past three years, bringing it to 53% of the way towards becoming water positive based on 2024 data. Kevin Miller, vice president of global data center operations for AWS, highlighted the industry-leading water use efficiency achieved by the company.
Optimizing cooling
To ensure optimal cooling for its servers, AWS relies on a combination of fans and evaporation-cooled air, adjusting configurations throughout the day based on various factors. The company has been using recycled water at select data centers in Virginia since 2019 and currently utilizes reclaimed water at 24 sites, with plans to expand this practice to Georgia and Mississippi.
By 2030, AWS aims to avoid the consumption of over 530 million gallons of drinking water through its use of recycled water. The company is investing in water storage efforts, watershed restoration, and water treatment systems to achieve its water positive goal.
Water innovation
AWS continues to explore ways to reduce water consumption in its data centers, including regular inspections for leaks and optimizing airflow dynamics. Microsoft, another major player in the cloud industry, is also focusing on responsible water use by implementing recycled water systems and closed-loop cooling technologies.
While the industry as a whole is committed to sustainable water practices, AWS stands out for its water use efficiency, with a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 0.15 liters per kilowatt hour of power compared to Microsoft’s 0.30 WUE. Both companies are actively investing in innovative solutions to minimize water usage in their operations.
