The NewYorkTime.com reported that “Driven by the artificial intelligence frenzy, Microsoft is internally projecting that water use at its data centers will more than double by 2030 from 2020, including in places that face shortages.”  The January 27, 2026 article entitled ” Microsoft Pledged to Save Water. In the A.I. Era, It Expects Water Use to Soar.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/technology/microsoft-water-ai-data-centers.html) included these comments from Reporters Adam Satariano, Paul Mozur, and Karen Weise:

Internal forecasts that Microsoft made last year, which were obtained by The New York Times, show the company expected its annual water needs for roughly 100 data center complexes worldwide to more than triple this decade to 28 billion liters in 2030. That compares with 7.9 billion liters in 2020 and 10.4 billion liters in 2024.

After The Times contacted Microsoft, the company said it had updated its projections to reflect new water-saving techniques, including a new data center design and better information from facilities that it leases. It now expects to use about 18 billion liters of water in 2030, up 150 percent from 2020. The new forecast does not include more than $50 billion in data center deals that the company signed last year.

Microsoft’s water use was expected to be particularly significant in areas already facing water crises. Near Jakarta, Indonesia, a metropolis sinking into the Java Sea partly because of drained aquifers, Microsoft last year estimated its water use would more than quadruple to 1.9 billion liters in 2030, up from 380 million liters this year. The company has since revised that figure to 664 million liters in 2030 and said it no longer had 2026 estimates for any location.

In the Phoenix area, which is navigating two decades of drought, Microsoft predicted last year that water withdrawals would reach 3.3 billion liters by 2030, more than any other place, up from an estimated 2.9 billion liters this year. The company reduced that estimate to two billion liters in 2030 as it runs the facilities at higher temperatures, meaning it needs less water for cooling.

Are you surprised about Water Usage?

First published at https://www.vogelitlaw.com/blog/water-usage-to-soar-with-ai-and-microsoft-pledges-to-save-water