Chile’s datacentre expansion exacerbates water crisis in drought-stricken regions
The Story
A Guardian investigation reports that Chile’s datacentre boom is worsening a 15-year mega-drought, with server farms in Quilicura consuming billions of litres of water annually. The Quilicura wetland, one of the country’s largest, has dried up as the area hosts the largest concentration of datacentres in Latin America. Activists and experts are calling for stricter regulation and relocation of facilities to water‑rich southern Chile.
Key Facts
- Rodrigo Vallejos, a law student, noticed the Quilicura wetland (468.4 hectares) drying five years ago. He discovered Quilicura has the largest datacentre concentration in Latin America.
- 33 datacentres are operating in Chile, with 34 more planned. The boom began in 2015 when Google opened its first Latin American server room in Quilicura.
- A 2022 report estimated the largest datacentres in the area consume 1.5bn litres of water per year.
- Google’s facilities hold water rights for 50 litres per second, equivalent to the annual consumption of 8,500 Chilean households.
- Water table levels beneath the Quilicura wetland have dropped alarmingly due to intensive use and severe drought. Figures on extraction are unclear, Vallejos said.
- The expansion is part of a national plan under former president Gabriel Boric to position Chile as a tech hub.
- Nicolás Jara, a researcher at Federico Santa María Technical University, warned that AI datacentres can use 10 times more water than storage datacentres.
- Climatologist Pablo Sarricolea projected annual precipitation will decrease significantly by 2070, with temperatures rising from 15.6°C to 17.4°C. He said locating datacentres in water-scarce areas is not a good idea and suggested southern Chile.
- Microsoft stated its Chilean datacentres use air‑based cooling and advance water restoration projects. Ascenty said its Quilicura datacentres use air‑cooled chillers with annual water use equivalent to 16 households.
- Google’s 2024 environmental report said its Quilicura datacentre used about 461m litres of water, equating to less than a golf course’s annual consumption.
- By 2032, Chile’s electricity consumption from datacentres could rise from 325 MW to 1,207 MW. Datacentres already account for 62% of Quilicura’s power consumption.
- Alexandra Arancibia, a councillor in Quilicura, said Google’s presence was minimal: 1,000 construction jobs and 208 operation jobs. A 2019 urban park mitigation project with 1,500 native trees has failed.
- In 2024, residents in Cerrillos halted a second Google datacentre because it held water rights for 228 litres per second (equivalent to 40,000 households). The project is on hold pending further environmental studies.
- President Antonio Kast, who took office in March 2026, withdrew 43 environmental decrees on his first day. Policy expert Pamela Poo said the weakening of evaluation standards began under the previous government.
- Vallejos stated: “I’m not demonising datacentres … but not at the cost of our water.”
Conflicting Reports
The article notes conflicting accounts between datacentre companies and residents/activists regarding water consumption, job creation, and environmental mitigation. Google and Microsoft defend their water use; residents highlight lack of transparency and failed offsets. The new rightwing government of Antonio Kast promotes less regulation, while activists call for stricter environmental rules.
Still Unclear
- Exact water extraction figures for the Quilicura wetland are unclear, according to Vallejos and activists.
- The future of the halted Cerrillos datacentre project remains undetermined pending further studies.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Rodrigo Vallejos, final‑year law student and activist
- Nicolás Jara, researcher at Federico Santa María Technical University
- Pablo Sarricolea, climatologist and associate professor at the University of Chile
- Alexandra Arancibia, activist and councillor in Quilicura
- Tania Rodríguez, teacher and resident of Cerrillos
- Pamela Poo, policy expert at NGO Ecosur Fundación
- Gabriel Boric, former president of Chile
- Antonio Kast, current president of Chile
- Google, Microsoft, Ascenty, Cirion, Sonda (companies named)
Sources: The Guardian
