A Techuk report claiming data centers in England use less water than previously thought has been accused of containing “methodological flaws” designed to appease tech lobbying in Britain.
Foxglove, a non-profit organization that campaigns for justice in technology and the protection of indigenous communities, described the study as “invalid and misleading,” claiming that the evidence did not support its conclusions.
A report previously covered by Computer Weekly suggested that commercial data centers in England are more efficient and use less water than expected, largely thanks to advances in cooling techniques. The survey, carried out in partnership with the Environment Agency, raised the issue of the industry’s use of environmental resources.
Tim Squirrel, Foxglove’s head of strategy, criticized what he called “methodological flaws” in the survey. He argued that Techuk’s conclusions cannot be generalized across the industry, given the limited and self-selected nature of the data sample.
“I was quite concerned about the methodology they used, not because of the sample size, but because to get a sample that’s representative of everything, you have to guarantee that it’s representative in some way,” Squirrel told Computer Weekly. “Unfortunately, they didn’t.”
The Techuk study was based on 73 sites across England, all of which submitted information voluntarily and anonymously.
The operator self-reported their water use, but no independent verification was carried out. While Techuk concluded from this report that data centers in England were using less water than previously thought, no details were provided about the size or function of the facilities surveyed. “There was no independent verification,” he said. “We have no idea whether the datacentres [that] reported their water use are telling the truth or are representative of the industry as a whole in the UK. It’s worrying because they make some pretty significant claims to back it up. That’s not a conclusion you can draw from this methodology.”
“Self-investigation bias”
Techuk acknowledged limitations in his report, noting the possibility of “self-selection bias” due to the anonymous, voluntary nature of the data and acknowledging that the lack of external evaluation is a shortcoming.
Contact Computer Weekly, Techuk defended the study. “Datacentres are the backbone of the UK’s digital economy and will play a key role in delivering our AI and innovation ambitions,” it said in a statement. “Our report shows that, contrary to some public perceptions, the majority of commercial data center assets are innovative in their use of minimal water.
“But as demand for compute grows, we need to plan ahead. In the report, which is the first step in a broader project to measure data center water use, we call for smart policies, resilient infrastructure, and stronger data to ensure digital and environmental resilience.”
Vāvere remained unconvinced, claiming that Techuk had a clear “agenda” in producing the report. “They wanted to show that water use was lower than what was reported in the media,” he said. “I can understand that from their perspective they are a technology lobby group, but what we were also concerned about was seeing the Environment Agency’s improvisation that it had merit.”
The Environment Agency is a non-governmental government agency responsible for regulating and protecting the environment, and is committed to balancing growth and sustainability. “I’ve generally found the Environment Agency to be fairly strict about the things they’ll put their name to,” said Squirrel. “It was really surprising to see them take this stance on this piece. They’re talking about the data center industry as a whole and the need to strike a balance between innovation and environmental impact.”
In response, an Environment Agency spokesperson told Computer Weekly: “The environment and sustainable development go hand in hand and we are playing our part in helping to unlock growth. We are working with the technology sector to understand their water needs and develop sustainable solutions, enabling them to support critical infrastructure such as data centers.”
“It is essential that we ensure that future generations have a reliable, clean and abundant supply of water, and we have set out to transform how we use and care for England’s water supplies through our National Water Resources Framework ,” they added.
The agency said it aims to work with the industry to understand the pressures it can place on water resources, pointing to its National Framework which outlines both current and future challenges and sets out actions for government, regulators, regional groups, water companies and industry.
But Foxglove doubts that these goals can be achieved without greater industry transparency and stronger government regulation.
“[The government is] desperate for economic growth, and they think this could be one mechanism by which they can achieve that,” said Squirrel. “As far as thinking about growth and the data center, because a data center, once it’s built, doesn’t actually require a lot of people to operate. Most of the work can be done as remote jobs. A data center, once built, isn’t going to provide a lot of high-quality tech jobs to the community.”
Foxglove is calling on the government to impose stricter regulation on the industry to ensure clarity and transparency around data center water and energy consumption, where it is sourced from, and the level of renewable energy being used.
“Currently, a developer will say that some secret operator has committed to certain net-zero targets without any possible binding commitment from the operator that we don’t know about,” said Squirrel. “There needs to be stronger transparency regulation at an earlier stage and these commitments related to climate targets and sustainability are binding.”
Foxglove recently made headlines for taking part in a joint legal challenge against the government over permission for a HyperScale Datacentre to be built in Iver, Buckinghamshire, without first assessing the ongoing environmental impact of the project.
