Key takeaways:

Amazon says its data centers used 2.5 billion gallons of water last year, but argues its water use per unit of compute is far lower than major rivals and the industry average.
AWS reported 0.12 liters per kilowatt-hour in 2025, compared with Microsoft at 0.27, Meta at 0.19, and Google at 1.15 based on the latest available figures.
Amazon says its data centers rely on free air cooling about 90% of the time, using water mainly during hotter periods when evaporative cooling is needed.

Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.

Amazon’s data centers used 2.5 billion gallons of water last year – but the company says that's less than any of its competitors use to run their facilities and a fraction of the water Americans use on lawns and gardens.

Amazon said its data centers used 0.12 liters of water per kilowatt-hour in 2025, more than seven times below the industry average. The company also reported that the total amount of water it withdrew at sites it owns and operates directly was down 2% from the previous year, despite continued expansion.

“We use far less water per unit of compute than others in the global data center industry, which as a whole accounts for less than 0.5% of all industrial water use globally,” Amazon said in a blog post.

In an infographic showing how much water each company's data centers require to deliver computing power, AWS said it used 0.12 L/kWh in 2025, compared with Microsoft's 0.27 L/kWh. Based on the latest figures available, Meta reported 0.19 L/kWh and Google 1.15 L/kWh in 2024.

The company also cited the EPA estimate that an average American family uses 320 gallons of water per day, with 30% of it spent on outdoor uses such as lawn and garden irrigation.

Amazon added that 90% of the time, its data centers use “free air cooling," requiring little or no water. But during the hottest periods, the company resorts to evaporative cooling, which uses water to lower air temperatures before they reach servers.

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It said that some other companies use chillers that work like giant air conditioners, but they typically require 25% to 35% more electricity. So, according to Amazon, using water “actually reduces overall environmental and community impact.”

The company noted that it has also been increasing the temperature thresholds at which its data centers operate to reduce water consumption. Now water is used for cooling only when ambient temperatures exceed roughly 85°F (29.5°C).

"Our engineers looked at two identical data centers on the same campus and were able to use about 50% less water in one of them that was running with higher temperatures," Amazon water specialist Beau Schilz said.

To achieve its goal of becoming "water positive" by 2030, Amazon is funding water replenishment projects and supports the development of reclaimed water programs. It said that more than 50 projects are expected to return 5.8 billion gallons of water annually to local communities.

The conversation around the environmental impact of data centers is as heated as ever. Some data centers operate in regions where water is a scarce resource, putting a strain on local communities. And while not all water used by data centers disappears – roughly 20-30% is returned as wastewater – experts warn that it deserves close attention. If improperly managed, wastewater can affect local ecosystems and strain municipal treatment systems.