Amazon Web Services (AWS) says it is expanding its recycled water initiative to more AWS data centre locations and water-scarce communities across the globe.
At the AWS re:Invent 2022 event held this week in Las Vegas, the Amazon subsidiary committed to becoming water-positive (water+) by 2030, noting it will return more water to communities than it uses in its direct operations.
AWS already uses recycled water for cooling purposes in 20 data centres around the world and it plans to expand its recycled water initiative to more facilities, as it works toward becoming water+.
AWS operates 96 Availability Zones within 30 geographic regions.
Over the past few years, the company says it has been driving four key strategies in pursuit of becoming water+ by 2030: improving water efficiency, using sustainable water sources, returning water for community reuse, and supporting water replenishment projects.
After maximising the use of water in its data centres, the spent liquid is still safe for many other uses, and AWS is finding more ways to return it to communities – a project which is already under way in SA, Brazil and Indonesia, among others.
In Oregon, AWS provides up to 96% of the cooling water from its data centres to local farmers at no charge for use in irrigation of crops like corn, soybeans and wheat.
“Water scarcity is a major issue around the world and with today’s water-positive announcement, we are committing to do our part to help solve this rapidly-growing challenge,” said Adam Selipsky, CEO of AWS.
“While we are proud of the progress we have made, we know there is more we can do. We are committed to leading on water stewardship in our cloud operations, and returning more water than we use in the communities where we operate. We know this is the right thing to do for the environment and our customers.”
Selipsky called on organisations across the globe to innovate and find new ways to help conserve and re-use the precious resource, warning that in just a few years’ time, half of the world’s population could be living in water-stressed areas.
According to Selipsky, AWS attains its water-efficiency by using advanced cloud services, such as internet of things technologies, to analyse real-time water use and identify and fix leaks.
The company further improves operational efficiency by eliminating the use of water for cooling purposes in many of its facilities for most of the year, instead relying on outside air.
“WateReuse Association celebrates AWS’s commitment to go water-positive by 2030, and for integrating water recycling as a key component in its goal to protect water resources, local ecosystems, and spur economic development,” said Patricia Sinicropi, executive director of WateReuse Association.
“The progress AWS has made in using recycled water for cooling in 20 of their data centres already shows great leadership for the industry. We look forward to collaborating with Amazon to implement water reuse for the benefit of their operations and for the communities in which they operate.”
To meet its water+ commitment, AWS says it is investing in water replenishment projects in the communities where it operates, including India, the UK and US. Replenishment projects expand water access, availability and quality by restoring watersheds and bringing clean water, sanitation and hygiene services to water-stressed communities, it says.
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