By using more recycled water, Amazon expects to preserve hundreds of millions of gallons of drinking water across the United States.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently announced a major expansion of its use of recycled water at data centers from 24 to more than 120 locations across the United States. It’s a shift expected to preserve over 530 million gallons of fresh drinking water annually—enough to fill about 800 Olympic-sized swimming pools each year.

What is recycled water?

Recycled water, also known as reclaimed water, is water pulled from wastewater treatment plants that’s treated further so it can be reused for purposes like irrigating crops, watering golf courses, and—in our case—cooling data centers. It’s essential to cool these systems to keep them running efficiently. But by using recycled water instead of drinking water, AWS is helping ensure communities have more water available for families, farmers, and fun—like neighborhood swimming pools.

How does AWS use recycled water?

In most places throughout the year, our data centers use simple air cooling with no water at all. But during hot periods, we sometimes use a direct evaporative cooling system similar to a swamp cooler. Outside air passes through soaked media, which cools the air before it enters the data center. AWS works with utilities to collect treated wastewater, clean it to appropriate standards, and reuse it to save drinking water.

Why does this matter?

Water availability and scarcity affects communities around the world, including in many parts of the United States. By using recycled water instead of potable water to cool our data centers, Amazon is preserving drinking water while still meeting the cooling needs of our growing digital infrastructure. Every gallon preserved makes a difference, whether it’s keeping public fountains flowing or ensuring parks stay green.

What's next?

This expansion is part of AWS’ broader commitment to be water positive by 2030. Water positive means replenishing more water to communities than we use in our direct operations. By the end of 2024, we were 53% of the way toward that goal. By using more recycled water, we're making significant progress toward becoming a more sustainable company.

For more information, images, and videos of our recent water work:

Just back from WEFTEC: Why does AI use water?

Water replenishment in action: protecting salmon in the drought-stricken Dungeness River

A version of this story first published on an internal site for Amazon employees.

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