Victoria's Data Centre Boom Creates a New Water Challenge
Victoria is placing new requirements on data centres as the sector expands rapidly, particularly because of the water and energy required to operate cooling systems.
Under Victoria's newly announced Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan, new data centres will be required to use recycled or other non-potable water for cooling rather than drinking water.
The issue highlights a broader challenge facing Australian industry.
As industrial facilities become more water-intensive, relying exclusively on high-quality potable water is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
Water recycling and treatment can allow suitable water sources to be recovered and reused for applications such as cooling, process water and washdown.
For industrial operators, this can mean:
- reducing demand for mains water
- reducing wastewater discharge
- improving water security
- making better use of alternative water sources
- preparing for tighter water-use requirements
The data-centre industry may be attracting the headlines, but the underlying issue affects manufacturing, food processing, agriculture and other water-intensive industries.
What does this mean for Australian industry?
Water should increasingly be viewed as a resource to manage, recover and reuse — rather than simply something that enters a facility and leaves as wastewater.
Integra Water helps Australian businesses assess, treat and optimise their water systems.
👉 Talk to Integra Water about your water management requirements.
News source: Reuters – Victoria's new data-centre water requirements