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[–] 27 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Yeah, man. Consumed in the same way that we mean water is consumed in every other context. Doesn't change the fact that the ground water is now sky water. Ground water takes months to decades to replenish, using it isn't harmless to the ecosystems you take it from.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago*

    Ground water takes months to decades to replenish

    You’re wayyyy underselling it here. Some aquifers take thousands of years to refill - and some won’t ever refill because they were filled when climate conditions were different.

    If an aquifer under a desert was filled when the region had regular rainfall, that water isn’t coming back on any human timescale. If we pump it out and a data center evaporates it away - poof, it’s gone from that area. Pretty much forever.

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  • [–] -3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    There's no reason AI datacenters couldn't be closed loop systems and just reuse the water. There are a multitude of ways water could be used more efficiently, it just has to be regulated.

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