Will Google's Server Farm Deplete South Carolina's Groundwater?
As drinking water sources around the country become imperiled by climate stress and growing consumption, one Silicon Valley tech giant is poised to withdraw what might seem like more than its fair share in South Carolina.
“The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control [DHEC] granted Google permission … to pump 549 million gallons of water out of the ground each year to cool its servers at its sprawling plant in Berkeley County,” according to The State. “DHEC’s decision is the latest development in a bitter fight over whether the company should get state approval to withdraw from a major groundwater source that, critics say, is dwindling and in jeopardy of being further depleted.”
The issue of groundwater depletion is one that has begun to affect the entire planet. A recently published research paper indicated that between 14 and 21 percent of watersheds around the world where groundwater extraction occurs have imperiled wildlife and that by 2050, that figure will reach between 40 and 79 percent.
And the problem appears to be top-of-mind in South Carolina, where aquifers supply a significant amount of the state’s drinking water.
“Groundwater withdrawals are a source of growing concern in South Carolina as demands on aquifers, large subterranean water supplies that line the state’s coastal plain, rise,” per The Hill. “Besides Google, megafarms in the center of the state have also come under scrutiny for their water use. Critics of DHEC’s decision said Google could get cooling water from rivers in the area rather than siphon off drinking water.”
Google does have to adhere to a withdrawal cap and other conditions or risk losing its new permit, which is set to expire in 2023.
For its part, Google has said that studies show it won’t be hurting groundwater supplies and that it plans to protect the much-needed source.
“We strive to build sustainability into everything we do, and our data centers are no different,” according to a Google statement shared by The State. “We’re proud to call South Carolina home for more than ten years, and we’re proud of the investments we’ve made here.”
To read more about the stressors on drinking water supplies, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.