Uruguay is experiencing its worst drought in 74 years. Meanwhile, Google's plans to construct a data center that would require the country's millions of liters of water per day have provoked frustration from locals.
Montevideo, the capital and the largest city of Uruguay, has declared a state of emergency due to the country's serious water scarcity. The government has responded by adding salty water to public drinking water sources, which has sparked significant protests.
Disagreements Over Google's New Facility
According to The Guardian, Some people believe the government is putting the needs of multinational corporations and agriculture ahead of those of its own citizens when it comes to water allocation.
Daniel Pea, a researcher at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, has claimed, "Only a tiny proportion of water in Uruguay is used for human consumption. The majority is used for big agro-industries, such as soya, rice, and wood pulping. Now we have Google planning to use enormous quantities of water."
In order to construct its new data center, the search giant has purchased 29 hectares (72 acres) of property in the Canelones department, located in southern Uruguay.
In the data received by Pea via legal action from the Ministry of Environment, the facility will consume 7.6 million liters (2 million gallons) of water each day to cool its servers, which is equal to the residential daily consumption of 55,000 individuals. Pea said the water would flow straight from the municipal supply.
The industry ministry in Uruguay has said that these projections are inaccurate since the corporation is now making changes to its plans, and the data center would be a smaller size instead.
Google claimed in a statement that the facility will handle requests from people all across the globe for Google services, including YouTube, Gmail, and Google Search.
"The Uruguay data center project is still in the exploratory phase, and Google's technical team is actively working with the support of national and local authorities. We expect preliminary numbers (like projected water consumption) to undergo adjustments. At Google, sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and the way we design and manage our data centers is no exception," the firm stated, as reported by BNamericas.
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Government Response to Catastrophic Drought, Heatwave
Due to extreme drought and record-high temperatures, Uruguay's major reservoir is empty, and rivers are running dry. As a result, public water officials have begun drawing water from the Rio de la Plata estuary, where saltwater mixes with freshwater, giving tap water a salty flavor.
As a result of the government's decision to increase the maximum allowable concentration of sodium chloride in public water supplies, pregnant women and others with compromised health are being warned to avoid its use. It has been recommended that parents use bottled water to make infant milk and refrain from adding salt to their children's meals.
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