SEPANG: A study on the water consumption patterns of all data centres in the country is currently being done by the national water regulator to better oversee how these facilities use the resource.
This is so that data centres, which use huge amounts of water for cooling, do not compete with households and other industries for treated water, said the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).
This would allow for strict rules to be enforced on data centres so that they can only use specific types of water that have been allocated to them, said SPAN chairman Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohd Din (pic).
The study complements guidelines for water use among data centres, which also includes the higher prices these facilities will have to pay for treated water, he added. The guidelines are expected to be ready by year end.
“We are doing a study on who is using treated and untreated water, Because we are regulators of treated water,” Abdul Kadir told The Star in a recent interview.
“If they say they are using untreated water but when we check they are actually using treated water, they can be penalised.
“The guidelines for instance, will say for untreated water the pipes are brown, while blue pipes are for treated water. But if you abuse this we can penalize you. Treated water is for consumption. It’s for the public to drink.”
According to a February news report, the over 100 data centres that have applied for approval from the government have water demands of 808 million litres per day (MLD).
A comparison with 2024 data released from SPAN shows that 808 MLD per day is the equivalent of 53.5% of Johor’s treated water consumption of 1,511 MLD.
Abdul Kadir said while data centres could use treated water, SPAN was encouraging them to use other sources such as sea water and recycled water so as not to strain fresh water sources.
“If they use river water, if there is a drought they wont have enough water for cooling and their operations will also be impacted. If they drain the water from the rivers, they will deprive domestic users.
“That is why we want them to use different sources of water. They also are not permanent as they might only stay for 10 years and then leave. So it is we who are left to suffer. So we have to protect our consumers.”
The data centres, which are operating now are following some principles such as installing two-day water reserves but the new guidelines will contain more details, he added.
“We are cautioning and guiding them but in some areas we can only advice but cannot enforce because they use untreated water.
“I advise them to use sea water but if they still use river water there is little we can do because the source is not under us.”
