Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, via IEEE Spectrum, September 2025

Used to keep the book’s water argument in proportion. US data centres consumed an estimated 17.5 billion gallons directly in 2023—vast in ordinary terms, but about 0.3 per cent of the country’s public water supply.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, via IEEE Spectrum, September 2025. (US data centre direct water consumption estimated at 17.5 billion gallons in 2023, approximately 0.3 percent of total US public water supply. Water Footprint Network, Mekonnen and Hoekstra, for embodied water comparisons. Environmental disclosure.)