'Not a single drop': AI data centre boom sparks water protests on Indonesian island

Around 300 residents of Indonesia’s Batam island stormed a data centre compound with empty bottles and jerry cans, protesting a water shortage that they say has left their homes without running water for three months amid the island’s growing AI infrastructure boom. According to a BBC report, the protesters gathered at Nongsa Digital Park, accusing data centres of having access to water while residents struggled to secure basic household supplies. Authorities have blamed the shortages on a prolonged dry spell and denied allegations that water meant for households was being diverted to data centres. "Not a single drop has come through our taps for the last three months... Our water supply had been reliable until the data centres came," BBC quoted Dewi Susanti, a resident of Bakau Serip village saying. She said residents had been forced to rely on tanker trucks supplying what she described as "dirty, cloudy and smelly" water, adding to household expenses and disrupting daily life. Batam's water utility told the BBC it was working to improve supplies but did not comment on whether data centres were contributing to the shortages. BP Batam, the agency overseeing trade and industry, blamed a prolonged dry spell and denied allegations that water meant for households was being diverted to the facilities. The protests come as Batam faces growing pressure on its freshwater resources. The island's 1.3 million residents depend on rainwater collected in six artificial reservoirs, while a local environmental group's simulations suggest Nongsa reservoir, which supplies Bakau Serip, could dry up within a month if rainfall does not return. The water crisis has intensified concerns over Batam's rapid expansion as a data centre hub, with investment in the sector exceeding $6.7 billion as of mid-2026 Authorities have approved 10 data centres on the island, six of them in Nongsa Digital Park, while at least six more projects are under review. Following protests in August and September, Batam authorities instructed companies developing data centres to build their own desalination plants rather than rely on freshwater from reservoirs.Why AI data centres need large amounts of freshwater AI data centres require large amounts of water to cool powerful servers and GPUs that generate heat while processing data. Many facilities use evaporative cooling systems, in which water absorbs heat and evaporates, requiring a continuous supply of fresh water. A typical data centre can consume around 300,000 US gallons (approximately 11.4 lakh litres) of water daily, equivalent to the daily water use of about 1,000 US households. However, consumption varies depending on the facility's size, cooling technology and operating conditions. Beyond direct cooling, data centres also have an indirect water footprint because electricity generation can require water.