Latest / Make Water Work Podcast / Data Centers Are Coming. Is Water Ready? | Make Water Work 037

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Data Centers Are Coming. Is Water Ready? | Make Water Work 037 · Make Water Work Podcast

0:03
Hi, my name is Isaac Peller and welcome
0:05
to the Make Waterwork podcast. I'm doing
0:07
a roundup episode this week. So, um,
0:11
we've had so many guests over the past
0:13
year and one of the topics that has come
0:15
up over and over is this topic of data
0:18
centers. We know that it's a really hot
0:20
topic and so the idea of um, how do we
0:24
support the infrastructure? How do we
0:25
cool the infrastructure? or what's the
0:27
impact from a resources standpoint?
0:30
What's the impact from
0:33
um from a community standpoint? And I
0:36
went back and looked at all of the
0:38
different clips that we've had where
0:39
folks have talked about um data centers
0:42
and I chose five different guests um who
0:46
had varying perspectives. There's no
0:48
necessarily one theme um but there is
0:52
urgency around um what we're going to do
0:55
with data centers about the water
0:57
supply, community engagement, economic
1:00
development, and what it means to be um
1:02
a good neighbor over the uh over a
1:05
watershed. And so uh the first clip that
1:10
that I want to focus on is with uh an
1:13
episode we did last year with Bruno
1:16
Pigot. So, um, at the time, Bruno, um,
1:19
was coming off of his time working at
1:22
the EPA and, um, was in a bit of
1:25
transition and actually ended up, uh, as
1:28
now working at the water reuse
1:30
association. And so as he points out
1:33
that water reuse is one of the most
1:35
practical responses to the data center
1:39
um conversation that when we know that
1:43
it uses a lot of water, what are the
1:46
technologies that can help reduce the
1:49
water footprint? Um, and so really
1:52
really cool to see how Bruno is putting
1:56
his effort and energy directly into
1:58
where he sees one of the biggest impact
2:01
of his skill set could be. So let's
2:02
watch that clip.
2:04
>> You know the big thing what's happening
2:06
now um AI
2:10
with data centers what's yeah that the
2:14
data centers take up a ton of water.
2:17
What's the right way to do that? I mean,
2:19
they're proposing all over the place.
2:21
One of the ways is water reuse. Instead
2:24
of just having one-time use of water and
2:27
putting contaminants in, let's have them
2:29
reuse it. Put in place water reuse
2:31
facilities. So, those are some of the
2:34
things I think that will become bigger
2:35
and bigger. And, you know, with the
2:37
change in climate, I don't care what you
2:38
call it, but clearly uh rain events are
2:41
becoming more intense. they're becoming
2:44
uh more frequent, but they're also um
2:46
interspersed with greater periods of
2:48
drought. That's going to be an issue
2:50
that we need to tackle and we can tackle
2:53
it in a variety of different ways. So,
2:56
um it's uh that's I guess there's a long
2:59
list of things that we'll be concerned
3:01
about. So, the next guest that I want to
3:05
feature is Michelle Stocknness. So
3:06
Michelle works at Freshwater and she
3:09
brings a perspective that is really unre
3:11
unrepresented in most data center
3:14
conversations. Um and that's on
3:17
community planning. And I think this is
3:20
this is where so many communities are um
3:25
and water utility leaders are being
3:28
caught flatfooted is that they're being
3:30
brought into the conversation a little
3:32
bit too late to know how much water
3:34
they're going to need to supply. those
3:36
kind of things. And and there are um
3:40
ways that uh companies who need data
3:42
centers need to be able to work more
3:45
collaboratively with the stakeholders in
3:48
that region um so that they're uh
3:52
communicating
3:53
transparently with the communities. Um
3:56
and so that's what this conversation
3:58
really focuses on. So let's take a look
4:00
at this clip.
4:01
>> Yeah, I think uh data centers is
4:03
definitely the hot topic. Um it's it's
4:06
big it's like my new PAS is what I like
4:08
to say. You know every everybody
4:09
everywhere wants to talk about it with
4:11
you if they know you work in water. Um
4:13
so it's sort of fascinating but on one
4:16
hand um the sort of urgency of it and
4:18
newness of it is driving a lot of
4:20
conversations that I think we've been
4:21
waiting to have and a lot of
4:22
understanding that we've been waiting to
4:24
have. So um we think uh data centers are
4:28
coming. They're coming to Minnesota. But
4:29
we want them to be cited in a place that
4:31
makes sense for long-term water supply.
4:33
And we want to make sure they have smart
4:35
design, you know, as efficient as
4:37
possible, water circularity, do those um
4:40
collocations with our facilities. So
4:42
that smart design, green infrastructure,
4:43
and then we also want to see community
4:45
engagement happen more in those uh
4:48
projects. So that's what we're trying to
4:50
do is kind of work across sectors. We
4:51
hear from community groups that they're
4:53
really worried about them, they're
4:55
scared of them, they don't want them. um
4:57
who's in charge of them and who can they
5:00
talk to about it. So we kind of help
5:01
them understand the the development
5:03
process and how they can engage and you
5:05
know permitting processes in the state
5:07
and regionally. Um we help utilities
5:10
understand you know what can you ask for
5:12
as part of the development? What are
5:14
water concepts to consider? Have you
5:16
thought about a green roof? Have you
5:17
thought about wastewater reuse? Have you
5:19
thought about um you know what will
5:21
happen if you use a lot of groundwater
5:23
and that's not available for drinking
5:25
water? you know things like that. Um
5:27
we've also talked to you know government
5:30
from the local to the state level you
5:32
know what's their role how are they
5:34
going to engage government and
5:35
development move very differently
5:37
there's different speeds so I think
5:39
that's
5:39
>> a lot of the conflict lately and then
5:42
also helping businesses like understand
5:44
what's you know in Minnesota what's our
5:46
processes what are the permitting
5:47
processes who are good stakeholders to
5:49
engage with so I think there's a lot of
5:50
like translation and coordination
5:53
>> also with elected officials but um
5:56
>> if you look at It's a real opportunity
5:58
to have for projects, you know, if
5:59
they're done well, can have economic
6:01
benefits, but they also can have
6:02
community benefits and ecological
6:04
benefits, too. But if we can slow it
6:07
down enough to think about those things
6:08
in the beginning, that's that's what
6:09
we're hoping for.
6:10
>> Yeah. Yeah.
6:11
>> We we could not agree more. And so, you
6:14
know, I'm curious like what is the ideal
6:18
stakeholder group? like if you're
6:19
designing your table like who are the
6:21
heads that you want at that table to
6:24
like you know create a model of good um
6:27
because I do think it's a lot of bottoms
6:29
up right now that we're seeing and
6:31
that's not working right so I would love
6:34
your thoughts on if you could design a
6:36
table of stakeholders who do you think
6:38
needs to be at that table
6:40
>> yeah I think you know what we're really
6:41
recommending at Freshwater is sort of
6:43
like regional planning like who else is
6:45
in your region that might be affected by
6:47
this is it community groups groups. Do
6:49
you have regional water planners? Maybe
6:51
you don't even have regional regional
6:52
water planners, but you know, other um
6:55
economic development teams, water teams.
6:58
If only economic development would get
6:59
the water people to the table a lot
7:01
earlier than like after the agreement
7:03
signed, that would be wonderful.
7:05
>> Um
7:07
>> so economic development and water
7:08
talking early earlier, a lot earlier. Um
7:12
>> community groups sort of want to know
7:13
what's going on, what type of business
7:15
is it? Um I think watershed groups, soil
7:18
and water conservation districts, um
7:20
whoever the like sort of watershed group
7:21
is in the region is really important. Um
7:24
and then state government has a lot of
7:25
resources available too and you know
7:27
they might have permitting roles but
7:29
they might just have information about
7:31
unintended consequences or private well
7:34
users in the area um trout streams
7:37
things like that that might be helpful
7:38
for businesses sightings. So I think
7:40
it's sort of taking a little bit more
7:42
time in that due diligence and
7:44
stakeholder engagement phase in the
7:45
beginning.
7:46
>> Yes. Yeah. Could not agree more.
7:48
>> Yeah. And then our next clip is with
7:52
Anthony D. Roza. So Anthony is the
7:55
executive director at the Association of
7:57
State Drinking Water Administrators. And
8:00
he has a lot of nuance in this
8:02
conversation that I think is valuable.
8:04
he takes a much um longer view lens and
8:09
um but he also talks about you know the
8:11
need for there to be standardization you
8:15
know because this is such a new
8:17
technology a new thing there's uh
8:19
there's variance on how different states
8:22
are going to um think about um what type
8:27
of regulation and what what parameters
8:30
and what container should really um be
8:33
in in uh conversations that center
8:36
around um building data centers. And so
8:40
Anthony always has um has a an
8:44
interesting perspective, but um but
8:47
there's also, you know, how do we better
8:50
understand what negotiation
8:53
um can really look like for uh water
8:56
communities or for communities that are
8:58
um looking to figure out what the water
9:00
resources that they're going to use. um
9:03
or be required to use what that looks
9:05
like. So, let's take a look at that
9:07
clip.
9:08
>> Data center thing I tend to think is is
9:11
sort of this blip problem.
9:13
>> And I say that because there's going to
9:16
be this huge push for data centers now.
9:19
There's this new kind of awareness
9:22
awakening that hey this might impact us.
9:26
Um I think all of the you know the
9:27
sector is kind of getting around to
9:29
creating a lot of great panels and
9:30
discussion around what are the
9:32
opportunities what are the challenges
9:34
what are the concerns um not all data
9:37
centers are created equal
9:39
>> so when we're trying to evaluate that
9:40
water use
9:41
>> we've had that conversation
9:42
>> very challenging to do any type of fair
9:45
analysis uh and then you look at the
9:48
bigs you know your Amazon's Google's
9:50
metas folks like that you know when
9:52
they're building these massive campuses
9:54
it's it's built into
9:57
the value proposition for them to bring
9:59
down the cost of operation.
10:02
>> And so
10:03
>> they're really the ones that I see
10:05
leading the charge in terms of how are
10:08
we going to reduce water use? How are we
10:10
going to set different best practices
10:12
for that? So I I really think there's
10:14
there's an opportunity and and a
10:16
necessity to partner with them to better
10:19
understand how how this could play out.
10:22
Um there may need to be a time when we
10:25
understand the difference between well
10:27
this is an acceptable water use
10:29
>> and this is not an acceptable water use.
10:33
>> Um and I'm not sure how that would work
10:35
out. I mean you know it that that's
10:37
that's the the
10:38
>> it is but it is it's coming up and in
10:40
fact we just did a podcast we're talking
10:42
about the discrepancy not every data
10:44
center is created equal that in the
10:46
design phase um of what they are seeing
10:49
this is an expert kind of um doing
10:50
innovation across the space they said uh
10:53
one data center had like a hundred folks
10:55
focused on the water use issue and then
10:58
the other data center that they were
11:00
collecting data from had two
11:01
>> and you know and it's just like totally
11:03
different you know and it's just like
11:04
there's got to be some sort of level of
11:06
standards of which all data centers are
11:09
going to be holding to when it comes to
11:11
like there's no reason why there
11:12
shouldn't be but it's going to be
11:13
fascinating to see how this plays out.
11:15
>> Yeah. I I I think it's the you know when
11:17
you look at water use efficiency numbers
11:20
that seems to be the well that's our
11:22
>> proprietary
11:23
>> and that's that's the one area where I
11:27
wonder I wonder if that's going to be
11:29
the focus for us. you know what do we
11:31
really need to know about a data center
11:33
coming in to make those choices and if
11:35
I'm being totally honest I'm not sure
11:38
it's going to be our fight I I really if
11:40
you're looking you know across the
11:42
>> data center news feed communities
11:46
>> I think these are getting hit very local
11:48
this is a very local
11:49
>> the big like nimi push like not in my
11:50
backyard
11:52
>> um you know I'm in Virginia and when
11:54
you're driving down I remember like 20
11:55
years ago driving out to Reston
11:58
we used to practice at my buddy parents
12:00
house out there and that was like it was
12:02
just a toll road out to nothing, right?
12:04
There's nothing out there. Um, even I
12:06
remember we'd leave at like 10:00 at
12:08
night. The toll booths were no longer
12:10
had people in it. You had to have a
12:11
credit card to get home on the toll
12:13
road. And that was first for me. I
12:14
thought that was really weird.
12:16
>> But over time, you start seeing all
12:18
these data centers and everything
12:19
cropping up.
12:21
>> No big deal, right? Very different from
12:24
building one in my literal backyard,
12:26
which is really what you're starting to
12:27
see now. And I think that that is going
12:30
to become the thing that starts to
12:32
really control whether or not data
12:34
centers are are blowing up on us. Um for
12:37
water use, I think we need to continue
12:40
educating ourselves. I think utilities
12:42
stand to um consider the opportunities
12:46
>> that that might be available to them in
12:48
terms of investment in the distribution
12:49
system. You know, we have water that
12:51
they need and they have something we
12:54
need, which is way more money than more
12:57
money.
12:58
>> Yeah.
12:59
>> You know, when I think about the profit
13:00
margins on a data center like that, and
13:02
I'm like, man,
13:03
>> what if we just took a sliver of that
13:05
and invest in distribution system, get
13:07
those lead service lines out, put in a
13:09
leak detection system. Um,
13:12
>> to your point, it's going to come down
13:13
so much to um state and local policy on
13:17
how they how they choose to engage with
13:19
that opportunity. Um,
13:21
>> but but no doubt it is an opportunity,
13:23
>> but yeah. Yeah,
13:24
>> it is. It is. So, you know, yeah, it's
13:26
it's one of those I feel like I'm I'm
13:28
like riding on both sides of the fence
13:31
on data centers. You know, I I
13:32
absolutely am aware of the potential
13:35
public health and environmental impacts
13:37
of them and that concerns me greatly. I
13:40
also like to introduce into the
13:41
conversation the abandoned mall concept
13:44
that at what point will all the data
13:46
centers be obsolete and then we these
13:49
gigantic abandoned shopping malls
13:51
>> it's a great
13:52
>> in everyone's backyard
13:53
>> because you I think about the march of
13:55
technology in terms centralized
13:57
decentralized large small things like
14:00
that and the idea that
14:03
>> a community might shut down my billion
14:04
dollar project is not going to fly for
14:07
me in the future and I'm Bigs are going
14:09
to be already thinking about putting
14:11
data centers in space, putting them
14:13
underwater, putting them in the Arctic
14:15
versus
14:17
melt the like the ice caps because I
14:19
made that better.
14:22
or even going with a distri, you know,
14:23
distributed models and and I've said,
14:25
you know, really crazy ideas like
14:27
everyone having a small data center in
14:29
their home submerged in their water
14:31
heater helping to heat their water,
14:33
capturing some of that energy, but
14:35
distributing it so that it's not in one
14:38
physical location anymore.
14:41
>> And now our next clip is with Damen
14:43
Georgino. He is a partner at Denton's
14:46
and you know he really looks at this
14:48
from the market standpoint and so when
14:52
you look at um both direct and indirect
14:56
water use um he explains why both matter
14:59
and how you need a little bit of both.
15:01
He brings a lot of economic development
15:04
framing into the way um in a way that's
15:07
practical and honest. uh water
15:09
availability is now one of the first
15:11
questions a hyperscaler asks when
15:13
they're um citing a facility. And so
15:16
that changes the leverage that
15:18
communities have and utilities are
15:20
starting to pay attention to that. And
15:24
again, it's moving so fast and so um
15:28
folks like Damian have a really uh
15:32
important perspective that we should
15:34
listen to. So let's take a look at that
15:36
clip. Let's start with data centers.
15:37
They're both they're both. Let's do data
15:38
centers.
15:39
>> Yeah, data centers.
15:40
>> AI is not going away.
15:41
>> So data centers there there's um they're
15:44
um there are a couple of ways of looking
15:46
at data centers. Excuse me. Um the first
15:49
is that they use a lot of water direct
15:51
directly use a lot of water. Uh I saw a
15:54
report that said by 2028 or something
15:57
like that uh the the use of water and
16:01
that's for cooling. you use it to cool
16:03
the you know these these servers get hot
16:06
you have to cool them so the direct use
16:08
of water is is going to be something
16:10
like 1 and a half trillion gallons a day
16:13
>> uh and I think that might be just for
16:14
the US
16:14
>> do you know where we are now I mean in
16:17
orderion yeah yeah yeah
16:19
>> so we're getting there we're getting
16:20
there but you saw uh Oracle came out and
16:22
said we'll need 2,000 more
16:24
>> uh data centers uh by 2030 or some such
16:28
number it's a it's a massive amount of
16:29
water that's just the direct usage Now,
16:32
there are a lot of people that are
16:33
saying, "Look, we we we can recycle RICR
16:36
if you don't just draw and send it out
16:37
cuz heat is a pollutant under EPA
16:40
rules."
16:41
>> Um,
16:42
and you're now looking at taking water
16:45
to the chip with some of the more
16:46
advanced chips.
16:47
>> That's right.
16:47
>> Um, taking the water right to the chip,
16:50
>> but there's a direct usage and that's
16:52
not going to go away. It's not like
16:53
these data centers come up with new
16:55
technology and the existing data centers
16:56
don't go away. They stay in place. Yeah.
16:59
>> So you'll have that new draw that we
17:01
never had before.
17:02
>> We never had that draw on that water
17:04
usage and a lot of the data centers are
17:07
going into water short areas.
17:09
>> That's right.
17:09
>> Um Reno above Reno
17:12
>> here in Indianapolis, you know, there
17:14
there's all over that. Yeah. Yeah.
17:17
>> Um so no matter where you go, it's an
17:19
additional draw on water.
17:21
>> Uh can they get to a point where you
17:23
reduce the amount of water? Yes. There's
17:25
a lot of uh the the hyperscalers as well
17:28
as the the offtakers um the mag 7 and
17:32
things like that that are talking about
17:34
a net zero. They're talking about net
17:36
positive.
17:38
>> Um not certain you'll ever get there
17:40
because
17:41
>> the other side of it is the energy piece
17:43
of it.
17:44
>> Yeah. the indirect use of water on the
17:46
energy side which can be as much as 40%
17:51
uh more uh just because well 40% of the
17:54
cost of energy is is is in water.
17:56
>> Yeah.
17:57
>> Uh and so I think you have for a lot of
17:59
these technologies other than solar but
18:02
>> you do have to use water to clean the
18:03
clean the mirrors and things like that.
18:06
>> Um
18:06
>> everything comes back to water, right?
18:07
You need water.
18:08
>> I can make anything water. Yeah. So you
18:11
know I think that there's the direct and
18:13
indirect use.
18:14
>> It's going to be an issue. It's going to
18:16
be there. We do a lot of economic
18:17
development and uh for hyperscalers and
18:21
for chip manufacturers for a lot of
18:24
other industries that come in. One of
18:26
their first questions is now what's the
18:28
availability of water?
18:29
>> Mhm.
18:29
>> Yeah. We did a project uh in uh in North
18:33
Carolina where it was a a you know the I
18:38
tend to not disclose uh clients only
18:40
because there's an ethical issue around
18:42
that
18:42
>> but um you know they came in and said we
18:45
want to be uh we don't want to be tied
18:48
to the municipal system.
18:50
>> Um and so they they instituted a recycle
18:53
reuse system. They had obviously pull
18:58
but they didn't want to discharge water
18:59
back to the system because they wanted
19:01
to be a good corporate citizen.
19:03
>> So
19:05
economic development which includes data
19:07
centers needs water.
19:08
>> Okay. And and managing and developing
19:12
>> those relationships understanding how
19:14
it's used I think is vitally critical.
19:16
>> So that's that's the the data uh center
19:19
side. It's not going away. It's only
19:21
going to get bigger. You go around the
19:23
world, it's exacerbated in places like
19:26
the Middle East. Uh but
19:29
>> where you're here in Charlotte or excuse
19:31
me,
19:31
>> Indianapolis.
19:31
>> Indianapolis. Yeah. It doesn't matter. U
19:34
>> um there's only a certain amount of
19:36
water.
19:36
>> That's right.
19:37
>> And uh you have to there isn't
19:40
>> a you aren't water rich necessarily. You
19:44
do have water,
19:45
>> but is it water rich is is a different
19:47
issue. You still have to be sustainable.
19:49
You still have to be considerate. Mhm.
19:51
>> AI in water in water technology.
19:54
>> I think is is absolutely um uh critical
19:59
to the future success.
20:01
>> Uh it's an intelligence
20:02
>> that right now uh I think we're just
20:05
getting uh familiar with.
20:08
>> I think there are lot of really nifty
20:10
applications
20:12
>> um for AI. So um a couple of the
20:16
companies that I work with have these
20:18
new a IML I guess is a better way to put
20:20
it. There you go.
20:21
>> Y
20:22
>> where you've got all these sensors out
20:23
in the field. You've got an ERP back
20:25
here.
20:26
>> Y
20:26
>> they bridge the gap.
20:28
>> That's right.
20:29
>> They read the sensor, turn it into
20:31
actionable information.
20:32
>> It's a brilliant application.
20:33
>> Take it back into the into the ERP and
20:36
things happen, right?
20:38
uh and those things that happen make the
20:40
system more efficient, but also you're
20:42
not adding a bunch of capex, which again
20:45
goes back into the rate structure, but
20:47
it's more of an operating model and it's
20:49
an inexpensive model.
20:51
And then lastly, we had Peter Yulus uh
20:54
our final clip. And um you know, Peter
20:58
really has uh done a ton of research
21:02
that is really really important because
21:06
um you know so many of these where what
21:09
we're realizing is that not every all
21:12
data centers are created equal. Some
21:14
companies have over a hundred people
21:17
that are focused exclusively on water
21:21
efficiency and um and sourcing and how
21:25
they are being responsible and some have
21:28
maybe too. And so when there's that big
21:30
of a variance that says that where we're
21:33
sitting right now is in a very um
21:37
squishy, not hyper standardized
21:41
um uh we're in, as he says, he's we're
21:44
in the early innings of of this AI and
21:48
data center um conversation. And so it's
21:52
messy. It's in need of standardization
21:55
um and in need of of research and
21:57
surfacing things like uh like we talk
21:59
about in this report that um that Peter
22:02
shares. And so let's take a look at that
22:04
clip.
22:04
>> In some of our research we you know we
22:06
went to some of the biggest data center
22:07
operators and developers out there. And
22:09
what I what was surprising was the
22:12
variety of of emphasis they were putting
22:14
on water. Um in some cases a company um
22:18
would have over a hundred have hired
22:20
over a hundred people just to focus on
22:22
solving water for their data center
22:23
operations and development.
22:25
>> Others of equal size have two and you
22:29
know it was really interesting to see
22:31
that just the difference emphasis that
22:33
they might place on some are some are
22:35
trying to solve water use effectiveness.
22:38
Microsoft has a new campus in Wisconsin
22:40
that's almost you know zero water use.
22:41
It's closed loop. Um and others are more
22:44
focused on um water replenishment where
22:46
they're not reducing the water demand of
22:48
a data center. They're just trying to
22:49
find water in the national environment
22:51
to replace
22:52
>> what they're using that water use. So
22:55
the variety of ways they are addressing
22:57
sustainability, you know, are is quite
22:59
broad.
23:01
>> So Peter, how um where's the where do
23:05
you think the standardization will come
23:06
from or do you think there will be
23:07
standardization for these things? You
23:09
know, there was an effort um AB93 was an
23:11
attempt to standardize reporting and
23:13
monitoring of water use in data centers
23:15
in California and it was vetoed by um
23:17
Governor Nuomo.
23:19
Unfortunately, I think but that is the
23:21
type of um standardization we should at
23:24
least have as a minimum bar is around
23:26
you know monitoring and reporting of of
23:29
water use. I think that's that should be
23:31
that should be done universally. And I
23:33
just think every every economic
23:35
development
23:36
uh I'm going to send it to mine here in
23:38
the Indiana uh association ecosystem
23:41
needs to read this report because I
23:42
think it does show some of the
23:44
variability of how to your point out how
23:45
people are looking at this two versus
23:47
100 you know and I just it's there there
23:50
needs to be some layer of kind of
23:52
standardization or where are the best
23:54
practices that we are you know pointing
23:56
to because it does seem like it could
23:57
get a little bit wild west out there uh
24:00
pretty quickly if it's not already there
24:02
in and services.
24:03
>> Yeah, I mean data centers represent a
24:05
huge increase in the you know the GDP of
24:08
our country. Like I think it was
24:09
reported that 92% of the incremental
24:12
growth in the economy last year was due
24:14
to data centers and AI. Um so if we're
24:17
going to be spending that kind of money,
24:18
we should at least be knowing what the
24:20
water use effectiveness and the water
24:22
intensity and total water use are for
24:24
the these systems. Um you can't um
24:28
manage what you don't measure.
24:30
>> That's one of my favorite lines. I love
24:31
that. And you can and that's and that's
24:33
the thing. There are technologies out
24:34
there to do just that. So why not why
24:36
not adopt them and build upon them,
24:38
right?
24:39
>> Yeah.
24:40
>> So how help us frame up then Peter? Uh
24:43
you talked about the GDP. What where do
24:45
you see the growth of this space? I mean
24:47
crystal ball. Where do you see this how
24:50
big do you see this space getting?
24:51
>> Yeah, we're in early innings in AI,
24:53
right? It's it's transforming our
24:55
economy. Every company's becoming AI
24:57
company or is using AI. Um and uh so you
25:01
know we're still uh going to be building
25:03
this out for the next 20 years at least.
25:06
And so I think it's important that um
25:08
investors like Echo River are supporting
25:11
the the new entrepreneurs and innovators
25:13
and that there are data center operators
25:15
who want to adopt and deploy uh new
25:18
innovations for for water s you know
25:21
water efficient um cooling technologies.
25:24
That's the point of this report. We're
25:26
hoping others will um will take a look
25:28
at this and invest in it um and out to
25:31
us you know for ideas where uh of the
25:34
the next big thing.
25:38
>> All right. So that's it. Five voices,
25:40
five perspectives and if you listen
25:43
closely a few things run through all of
25:46
them. Water is not a commodity that data
25:49
centers can treat as an afterthought. Um
25:52
the communities living near these
25:54
facilities are paying attention and
25:56
they're asking questions the industry
25:58
isn't always ready to answer and the gap
26:01
between the operators who are taking
26:02
water seriously and those who aren't is
26:04
wide enough that someone whether that's
26:07
regulators, communities or the market is
26:10
eventually going to close it. And so um
26:13
I I am confident that this is going to
26:15
keep coming up as we talk to more
26:17
guests. Um but this is an important
26:21
topic in the myriad of topics whether
26:24
it's water quality asset compliance um
26:28
or even water resources but at the end
26:31
of the day it's how are we making water
26:34
work for the communities that we serve.
26:37
So, thank you for tuning in to this
26:39
episode of Make Waterwork.