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The Guardian
December 4th, 2025 at 2:00 PM

Thirsty work: how the rise of massive datacentres strains Australia’s drinking water supply

The demand for use in cooling in Sydney alone is expected to exceed the volume of Canberra’s total drinking water within the next decade Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates As Australia rides the AI boom with dozens of new investments in datacentres in Sydney and Melbourne, experts are warning about the impact these massive projects will have on already strained water resources. Water demand to service datacentres in Sydney alone is forecast to be larger than the volume of Canberra’s total drinking water within the next decade. Continue reading...

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Canonical link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/04/thirsty-work-how-the-rise-of-massive-datacentres-strains-australias-drinking-water-supply