Britain urges residents to delete emails and photos to save water for data center cooling.

Britain urges residents to delete emails and photos to save water for data center cooling.

In response to the ongoing national water shortage, the UK government has advised residents to delete old emails and pictures to help conserve water. This recommendation, published on July 2, 2025, is part of a broader effort to mitigate the impact of the drought, which has been classified as a "nationally significant incident."

The UK government has identified five areas in the country currently experiencing drought conditions, with six more experiencing prolonged dry weather. This situation has led to a significant decline in river and reservoir levels, with no respite expected in August. As part of its water conservation strategy, the government has suggested various measures, including collecting rainwater, fixing leaks, and reducing shower times. However, the advice to delete old emails and pictures has drawn criticism for its practicality.

While it is true that data centers consume large amounts of water through evaporative cooling, the majority of this water usage is attributed to the energy-intensive processes of CPU and GPU computation, rather than the storage of emails and pictures. Once data is stored, the storage devices generate minimal heat and are often placed in low-power states. Therefore, the impact of deleting emails and photos on data center water usage is likely to be negligible.

Moreover, the effectiveness of this advice is further undermined by the fact that the data being deleted might be stored in data centers outside of the UK. The UK does not have universal laws mandating that citizen data must be stored within the country, meaning that deleting data to save water could potentially increase water usage in other countries.

The UK's focus on data center water usage highlights the growing demand for energy-intensive infrastructure. According to a recent report by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the company is planning to serve 10 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity demand from data center projects over the next decade. This growth is expected to lower customer electric bills by up to 10%, create tens of thousands of jobs, and contribute billions in local revenue. However, the UK's advice to delete emails and pictures underscores the need for more targeted and effective strategies to address the water crisis.

References:
[1] https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/uk-government-inexplicably-tells-citizens-to-delete-old-emails-and-pictures-to-save-water-during-national-drought-data-centres-require-vast-amounts-of-water-to-cool-their-systems
[2] https://www.carmichaeltimes.com/2025/08/11/542520/pg-e-data-center-demand-pipeline-swells-to-10-gigawatts