Communities Worry About Water and Electricity Supplies As Data Centres Expansion Increases

21st October 2025

there are growing reports in the UK and elsewhere that large-scale data centres are generating complaints from local people and utilities alike about their impact on water and electricity supplies.

Below is a summary of how this is playing out, what the concerns are, and how prevalent the issues appear to be.

What the reports show

A report by the UK government ("Environment Agency / others) on water-use in data centres & AI notes that large new data centres could lead to "social and environmental conflicts" because of competition for finite water resources.

In London and its environs, Thames Water (the major water utility) has explicitly reviewed data-centre water use. They noted that some centres are using drinking‐quality water for cooling and raised the possibility that this could stress supplies in drought conditions.

On the electricity side, a local investigation on the Isle of Dogs / South Poplar area in London found that data centres are consuming a very large share of local electricity infrastructure capacity — reportedly up to 75% of an area's available energy supply. This is reported to have delayed housing development because of grid‐capacity constraints.

Media reports say that in the UK data centres are estimated to use "nearly ten billion litres of water annually" (for cooling) as the UK faces drought in some regions — raising alarm about resource competition.

Locally, communities in England have protested proposed data-centres on grounds of strain on local infrastructure (water, transport, noise) and changes to character of place (e.g., in Abbots Langley).
AP News

Main concerns

Water supply: Many data centres still use large volumes of water (for cooling, evaporative systems etc). If they draw from the same supply as households or agriculture, that can create competition — especially in areas of existing water stress. Example: in a drought‐prone region of England, a proposed "hyperscale" data centre was objected to by a water company because of risk of draining resources and overloading the sewer/wastewater network.

Electricity / grid capacity: Data centres require very reliable, high-capacity power supplies. If many such facilities are locating in a region, local utilities and planners worry the existing grid may not keep up, or that connection priority goes to data centres rather than housing or other local uses. This can lead to delays in other developments, or higher infrastructure cost.

Local infrastructure & competition: When data centres locate near housing or in growth areas, local residents worry about (a) resource impacts (water, power), (b) other impacts (traffic, noise, land use), (c) the sense that large global operators get priority access while local amenities or housing suffer.

Transparency & regulation: There is a recurring theme that data-centre water/power use is not always clearly disclosed or well‐regulated in local planning processes, which gives rise to friction with communities and utilities. For instance: "water consumption" and "power and grid strain" are among the top causes of local opposition/delays in data centre projects.

How prevalent / severe is the issue in the UK?

The UK still appears to have many data centres with more efficient or less water-intensive cooling systems: for example one survey of 73 commercial colocation facilities found "most are low water users" (51% use waterless systems; 64% use under 10,000 m³/year) in England.

So although water/power pressures exist and are growing, not every data centre is causing major local complaints — much depends on location, scale, cooling method, and existing local utility capacity.

The issue appears more acute in certain “hotspots" where many large facilities cluster (leading to grid strain) or in water-stressed regions.

Local opposition is increasingly a factor in planning and siting of large data-centres. The investment and growth boom in AI/data-centres means these tensions are rising.

Implications & what to watch

For local communities: When a proposed data centre is near you, key questions to ask include: What cooling technology will it use? Will it draw on potable water or alternative supplies? What impact will it have on local power infrastructure (will grid upgrades be required)? Will it delay or compete with other local resource uses (housing, farming, etc)?

For policymakers/planners/utilities: The need to ensure that local infrastructure (water supply, sewerage, electricity grid) is adequate for new data-centre loads. That new centres pay their fair share of upgrade costs. That resource‐use (water/electricity) is transparent and subject to local scrutiny.

For developers and investors: Recognising that local opposition (driven by water or electricity concerns) is becoming a real risk for cost/timeline. Many projects globally have been delayed or cancelled partly for these reasons.

For sustainability: As data centres continue to grow (especially for AI and cloud services), making sure they adopt efficient cooling (air, liquid, closed-loop), use non-potable water or recycle/ reuse water, and coordinate with local utilities on power/water draw will be increasingly important.

There are significant complaints and concerns from locals and utilities in the UK about data centres and their demands on water and electricity. While not every facility is causing problems, the issue is growing in prominence, and for larger “hyperscale” or aggregated clusters of data centres the risks of resource constraint, community pushback and utility strain are real. As the industry grows, these tensions are very likely to increase unless carefully managed.