Batam Data Center Strains Residents' Water Supply While Its Desalination Plant Remains on Paper
AryHHAry · x · 2026-09-29
Residents near the Nongsa data center in Batam, Indonesia protested after their water supply stopped once the facility began operating. The author explains it's not that "the world ran out of water"—the data center came online first while its seawater desalination (SWRO) project is still in permitting and design, and cooling couldn't wait for proposals. It's a classic system pattern: capability arrives before constraints, then constraints get patched after someone goes thirsty. Desalination isn't a reset button—it shifts the water burden onto electricity, membranes, brine, and construction time. The author isn't anti-data-center, just against turning on the load before securing the source.
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