Get the Facts: How much water do West Des Moines data centers actually use?

BUT THAT’S STILL DOWN FROM MONDAY. ��vlog IS LOOKING INTO WHAT’S CAUSING MORE NITRATES IN OUR WATER AND HOW MUCH SOME COMPANIES ARE PULLING FROM THE WATER SYSTEM. WE’RE GOING TO START WITH AFFILIATE JACOBSON, WHO JOINS US FROM A DATA CENTER IN WEST DES MOINES TONIGHT. OPHELIA IS GETTING US THE FACTS ON WHY THESE FACILITIES USE SO MUCH WATER. THIS IS ONE OF FIVE DATA CENTERS FROM MICROSOFT HERE IN THE CITY OF WEST DES MOINES. AND CONSTRUCTION ON A SIXTH ONE IS EXPECTED TO START LATER THIS YEAR. NOW, DATA SHOWS THAT THE CORPORATION IS ONE OF THE LARGEST USERS OF WATER HERE IN THE CITY. ��vlog WANTED TO GET THE FACTS ON WHY AND WHAT IMPACT THAT HAS HAD ON OUR SYSTEM, AND BASICALLY OUR ENTIRE DIGITAL LIFE RUNS OUT OF THESE DATA CENTERS. THE CITY OF WEST DES MOINES IS HOME TO FIVE MICROSOFT DATA CENTERS, WITH A SIXTH ON THE WAY. IOWA STATE PROFESSOR DOUG JACOBSON SAYS THESE CENTERS PRODUCE A LOT OF HEAT. WE’VE ALL HAD OUR LAPTOPS, RIGHT, AND THEY GET WARM. EACH SERVER IN A DATA CENTER IS PROBABLY 10 TO 20 TIMES THE POWER OF WHAT YOUR LAPTOP HAS. THAT’S WHERE WATER COMES IN. JACOBSON SAYS. IT’S NEEDED TO COOL THE BUILDINGS. WATER IS A VERY EFFICIENT WAY, FAIRLY EFFICIENT WAY TO MOVE HEAT OUT OF A BUILDING OR OUT OF A OUT OF A DATA CENTER. DATA FROM WEST DES MOINES WATER WORKS SHOWS MICROSOFT WAS THE SIXTH TOP WATER USER IN THE MONTH OF MAY, 2.1 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER USED ACROSS FIVE DATA CENTERS. SEVERAL REALTY AND PROPERTY GROUPS RANK HIGHER IN A CUMULATIVE SENSE. FROM APRIL 2024 TO MARCH 2025, MICROSOFT WAS THE HIGHEST USER OF WATER IN THE CITY. FIRST THING THAT COMES TO PEOPLE’S MIND IS THAT WATER AND COMPUTERS DON’T MIX. SO YOU WOULD NEVER THINK THAT THOSE TWO THINGS WOULD WOULD BE TOGETHER. WEST DES MOINES WATER WORKS GENERAL MANAGER KRISTINA MURPHY SAYS DATA CENTER USE REPRESENTS ANYWHERE FROM 2 TO 7% OF THE WATER USED BY CUSTOMERS EACH DAY. MURPHY SAYS MICROSOFT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE OUTDOOR WATERING BAN, AND THAT THE BAN WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED REGARDLESS OF DATA CENTER WATER USAGE. THIS DYNAMIC RIGHT, JACOBSON SAYS. WATER USAGE FOR DATA CENTERS CAN VARY BASED ON HUMIDITY, OUTSIDE AIR TEMPERATURE, AND DATA USAGE. A SPOKESPERSON FOR MICROSOFT SAYS IN A STATEMENT. QUOTE, EFFICIENT DATA CENTER WATER USE IS A PRIORITY FOR MICROSOFT. BEGINNING AUGUST 2024, ALL OUR NEW DATA CENTER DESIGNS BEGAN USING ZERO WATER COOLING TECHNOLOGY. AS WE WORK TO MAKE ZERO WATER EVAPORATION, THE PRIMARY COOLING METHOD ACROSS OUR OWNED PORTFOLIO. END QUOTE. AND ��vlog REACHED OUT TO THE OTHER TOP USERS OF WATER, WHICH INCLUDE REALTY GROUPS AND PROPERTY GROUPS. ONE OF THOSE GROUPS IS R&R REALTY GROUP. THEY WERE THE TOP USER OF WATER HERE IN THE CITY OF WEST DES MOINES IN THE MONTH OF MAY, AND THE SECOND TOP USER IN THAT CUMULATIVE 12 MONTH PERIOD FROM APRIL 2024 THROUGH MARCH OF 2025. THEY TELL ME THEY STOPPED THEIR IRRIGATION AS SOON AS THAT BAN WENT INTO PLACE, AND THEY’VE ALSO PUT A PAUSE ON ALL OF THEIR SOD AND LANDSCAPING PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD. FOR THE TIME BEING. IN WEST DES MOINES, OPHELIA