On September 1st, Dr. Vaibhav Bahadur testified before the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs concerning water usage by data centers in Texas.
His presentation, "Water-related Aspects of Data Centers in Texas," touched upon how cooling data centers works and the different types of cooling processes. He addressed where water usage and loss would occur and the more water-efficient technologies that are being developed.
One of the types of cooling used most often by data centers in Texas during the warmer months is an 'adiabatic' method, where the air is 'pre-cooled' by evaporating water - much like "patio mister[s] on hot summer days." He explained the best ways to reduce the amount of water data centers use and how that would impact the state's water consumption. He also pointed out that non-consumable water and produced water could be used instead of water from the state's water tables.
He also answered questions from the Committee about possible cooling methods and best ways to combine methods to reduce water usage.
You can see his testimony on the Texas Senate's streaming video player (starting at 1:48:49).
