The boom in artificial intelligence means regulators cannot predict the future of water shortages in England
England’s already tight water supply may be much greater than the official forecast threat, as the country’s environmental regulator acknowledges that there is no reliable data on the amount of water consumed by the booming AI sector.
The Environment Agency (EA) warns that by 2055, public water supply in England could face a shortage of 5 billion liters per day, with industries, agriculture and emerging technologies requiring an additional 1 billion liters per day. However, this estimate does not include water used by AI data centers, which is rapidly expanding and consuming a lot of water for cooling, most of which is drawn from public supplies.
EA sources told The Guardian that excluding data center water use from its forecasts makes it impossible to quantify the real future water shortage. The agency releases national water use forecasts every five years, but insiders say modeling this year is particularly difficult because of unpredictable and explosive growth in AI infrastructure, which represents a drastic change in industrial demand patterns.
The lack of mandatory reporting makes the issue more complicated. Currently, data center operators do not need to disclose the amount of water they consume, making regulators effectively invisible one of the most critical trends shaping England’s future water demand.
AI data centers that require a lot of energy and water to operate rely heavily on cooling systems to prevent servers from overheating. These include cooling towers and evaporation systems, both of which consume a lot of clean, processed water. Industry estimates show that AI data centers consume 1.8 to 12 liters of water per kilowatt-hour, a graph as multiple centers expand.
A recent study predicts that by 2027, global AI operations could consume as much as 6.6 billion cubic meters of water per year, equaling two-thirds of England’s current annual water consumption.
Environment Agency Chairman Alan Lovell issued a clear warning: “The U.S. water is under enormous and stable pressure. This deficit threatens not only the water in your faucet, but also economic growth and food production.”
He added: “Getting water from the environment will have a catastrophic impact on our rivers and wildlife. We need to address these challenges positively and strengthen coordinated actions to maintain this valuable resource and current lifestyle.”
Government policies are more complex, and this challenge is increasingly focused on making the UK a global leader in AI. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to expand AI infrastructure, including cutting planned restrictions on data centers in designated “growth zones.” These areas may see fast tracking of data center structures – often without reviewing their environmental impacts accordingly.
Despite the expected pressure, many AI data centers continue to use public water instead of seeking private or renewable resources, something environmental agencies say they don’t want to dissuade, but have attracted serious concerns about long-term sustainability and transparency.
Water companies have submitted long-term infrastructure plans to address the growing shortfall, including proposals for nine desalination plants, 10 new reservoirs, and seven water recycling schemes to be completed by 2050. However, critics point out that these projects are expensive, time-consuming, and may not be ready in time to offset rising demand—especially from sectors like AI, which are growing at exponential speed.
The cost of this investment has been passed on to consumers, and household water bills across England have risen to fund infrastructure upgrades. Meanwhile, the government is planning to launch smart meters nationwide to track and recharge homes based on personal water use.
Climate change may exacerbate the crisis. As the hotter, dry summers are expected in the coming decades, areas that rely on surface water sources will become more susceptible to drought conditions. Groundwater reserves may also be difficult to charge continuously, further reducing availability.
Some suggestions have already aroused strong public opposition. Thames Water launched a statutory public consultation on the controversial £300 million drought elasticity scheme that pumps 75 million liters of treated sewage into the Thames every day under drought conditions. The program focuses on the Mogden treatment project in southwest London, aiming to maintain the flow of the river by replacing treated wastewater instead of clean extraction.
Critics – including Liberal Democratic MP Munira Wilson, raises alarms on the risks of water quality, chemical pollution, chemical pollution and the wider ecological impact of bringing treated sewage into rivers. The Environment Agency itself warned that the Thames water failed to prove the environmental feasibility of the plan.
This is because Thames water continues to leak an estimated 570 million liters of water every day, the highest loss caused by any British water company.
Implications about uncalculated data center usage may strengthen scrutiny of regulators and policy makers. Without mandatory reporting requirements, the future modeling of environmental agencies will be incomplete, thus limiting the ability of governments to effectively plan for safe surface future plans.
David Black, CEO of water industry regulator of Ofwat, urged the industry to continue investing. “Promoting supply by building critical water infrastructure is crucial to protecting the supply of drinking water,” he said. “Now, for the industry, the success of the Thames Tide Project is established through 30 major infrastructure projects in England and Wales.”
However, as industrial demand continues to rise and climate impacts accelerate, without comprehensive oversight of one of the most water-intensive technologies on the horizon, experts say even the most ambitious plans may be reduced, with mandatory water reporting through AI Datacentres unless a full body reform is introduced.
