More than 10 million people across England will be subject to a hosepipe ban, Thames Water confirmed, as the Environment Agency warned that eight areas of the country are at risk of drought. The announcement comes as the UK’s push to become an AI superpower faces a growing tension between the thirst of datacenters and the finite water supplies that households and businesses rely on.
Southern, central, and eastern England are already moving closer to drought, putting water availability firmly on the agenda. But the government’s blueprint for an AI-driven future largely ignores the water that datacenters need, according to Water UK, the trade association for Britain’s water industry. In written evidence to a parliamentary committee, Water UK said official forecasts of England’s future water needs excluded datacenters, despite government efforts to encourage more of them to power AI development. The policies for delivering AI Growth Zones under the AI Opportunities Action Plan appear to assume ample water supplies, the submission argues, limiting the investment water companies can plan for, including new reservoirs.
“Hosepipe ban for 10 million as drought risk grows, while AI datacenter water demands go unaccounted for.”
The consequences are already being felt. Water UK said some housing projects have been blocked and businesses barred from expanding because water isn’t available. Supply is so constrained that the Environment Agency has effectively imposed a moratorium on business expansion in East Anglia and parts of Essex. The trade body is calling for new supply infrastructure to be fast-tracked, abstraction limits reviewed, and operators required to cover infrastructure costs, meet minimum efficiency standards, and use non-potable water wherever possible.
Global datacenter water use is expected to more than double between 2025 and 2050, and the UK – with a datacenter pipeline almost double that of the next-largest European country and ambitions to treble capacity by 2030 – is likely to account for a disproportionate share. Most of the UK’s current capacity is sited in and around London, with more than 1,000 MW located there. Europe’s largest datacenter cluster is reportedly in Slough, Berkshire, home to as many as 35 facilities. Yet operators are not required to report water use, so no official consumption figures exist. The Water Research Centre estimates English facilities use almost 1.9 billion liters a year.
Current economics push operators toward cooling methods that save energy rather than water, because UK energy prices are among the highest in the developed world. Where water is cheap relative to energy, operators favour using more of it to use less power – a trade-off that could become unsustainable as reservoirs run low. The Government Digital Sustainability Alliance warned last year that AI is driving a significant, yet often under-appreciated, demand for water. With a hosepipe ban now in force for millions, the question is whether Britain’s AI ambitions can stay online without running the taps dry.