• What many people do not consider every time they use the internet is the amount of energy AND water it takes to operate data centers, keeping them cool in temperature and well-functioning. Google is increasingly taking this into account as the number of data server centers continues to grow to match the use of their services.  Thanks to Sam Arons of Green Business Operations, Google Inc. for pointing out this page to me.

    Google’s Attention to Water Efficiency in their Data Centers

    Energy efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves money, but it also plays a central role in fresh water conservation. Most people don’t realize that power plants require a significant amount of water to operate. On average, two gallons of water is consumed for every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in the U.S. By using less electricity to power our computing infrastructure, we also save fresh water.  Every year our efficient data centers save hundreds of millions of gallons of drinking water simply by consuming less electricity.

    On top of those savings, we aim to minimize the amount of fresh water directly consumed by our facilities. In our last report we noted that by the end of 2008, two of our facilities will run on 100% recycled water. We’re pleased to announce that we have achieved that goal, and we are planning for recycled water to provide 80% of our total data center water consumption by 2010. The idea behind this is simple: instead of wasting clean, potable water, use a dirty source of water and clean it just enough so it can be used for cooling. Cooling water still needs to be processed, but it’s much easier to treat it enough for data center use compared to cleaning it for drinking use. For example, the data center we’re building in Belgium will use water from an industrial canal and treat it in an on-site water purification facility before it is evaporated in the cooling towers. Other sites will use alternative sources of recycled water, such as city wastewater or rain water collected on site. While it’s not always technically or economically feasible to use recycled water, we’re optimistic that we can find sustainable solutions for the majority of our water use. Recycled water isn’t widely used in the data center industry today, but we hope that others will adopt this practice.

    The picture on this page shows the water filtration system at our facility in Belgium, which is still under construction. The ability to use recycled water was one of the reasons for choosing this site; once  operational, the Belgium facility will run on 100% recycled water.  Here’s how it works: dirty water from an industrial canal enters the system and runs through a number of treatment steps, including these large tanks that are filled with a fine sand that filter out small particles. At the end of the process the water is completely clear and looks like regular water. Although it is not suitable for drinking, it is clean enough for environmentally friendly and highly efficient cooling.

    Follow this link to see a short film on Google data center water treatment: http://www.google.com/corporate/green/datacenters/step3.html