Reducing Water Use, Restoring Ecosystems: The Unseen Work of Data Centers

Around the globe, today’s data centers provide the core, foundational infrastructure for real-world innovation in virtually every industry imaginable. From agriculture and banking to science and transportation, advances are made possible by the capabilities powered by data centers.

Without data centers, our mobile devices would be effectively useless, unable to download information, operate interactive apps, provide hyperlocal weather forecasts, deliver real-time banking information, display location-sensitive maps, stream content, or offer enhanced educational tools and services.

The critical role data centers play in connecting countries and communities worldwide with a new, global, digital economy is sometimes overlooked, but it cannot be discounted. And those of us in the data center community should not hesitate to tell that story with enthusiasm. Today, we all understand that there is some skepticism around the impacts data centers can have on water, waste, emissions, and other sustainability-related factors.

While these efforts contribute to the overall industry goal of being a good neighbor in markets around the world, there are numerous other opportunities to have a positive impact, some of which may not directly translate into statistics in a report. Volunteering, supporting local community projects and organizations, or ensuring that the floriculture and habitats around our facilities help them fit into the broader landscape.

One example underway in California’s agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley is designed to restore native plants and vegetation on flood-prone farmland and reconnect critical parts of California’s second-largest river to its historic floodplain, across approximately 350 acres that previously operated as a dairy farm. The goal of this project is to deliver significant water benefits to the Valley by conserving precious freshwater resources and increasing freshwater inundation on the floodplain, as well as increasing flood safety for vulnerable local communities, boosting habitat for struggling native plants and animals, and offering recreational opportunities for nearby residents and visitors in one of the state’s most park-starved regions.

For this initiative, known as the Hidden Valley Ranch project, located near Modesto, EdgeConneX is collaborating with River Partners, a leading river-restoration nonprofit based in Chico, to rejuvenate the targeted area by planting nearly 80,000 native trees and plants. Restoration efforts by River Partners include the use of native trees, plants, and grasses on a commercial scale to rejuvenate degraded landscapes, utilizing locally sourced plants to enhance the project’s chances of success.

Part of the project's benefit is realized by shifting from commercial, water-intensive crops to native species that can provide shade, ground cover, food/nutrients, and habitat for a diverse suite of wildlife while using significantly less water. In addition to reduced irrigation demand – irrigation pumps will be turned off after the project’s third year. The work in the San Joaquin Valley will help reduce flood risk along California’s second-largest river and create a habitat where native species from endangered salmon to monarch butterflies to millions of birds that migrate along the Pacific Flyway each year can thrive and make their own contributions to restoring the area.

Additionally, a project like Hidden Valley Ranch can bring significant economic benefits to people and businesses in the surrounding communities near the San Joaquin River, ranging from job creation to tourism and park services related to the revitalized ecosystem.

EdgeConneX partnership with River Partners was initiated through its collaboration with Waterplan, an AI-powered platform to measure, report, and respond to water risks. By providing precise data on San Joaquin Valley’s water-scarce areas, Waterplan enabled EdgeConneX to work towards offsetting volumetric water usage, while supporting both environmental and community goals.

While projects like this make a big difference for businesses and residents in the area, what matters is ensuring that efforts like this become, at the macro level, one more benefit offered by the data center industry. There are a small number of players in or adjacent to the sector whose behavior can result in widely shared stories of noise and habitat destruction for flora and fauna. These instances are sometimes used to unfairly define the entire industry in the public’s mind. As a result, the industry and its largest, most responsible members can leverage their leadership roles to ensure their sustainability efforts have measurable impacts wherever they are implemented and that they are widely communicated. Hence, the public is aware of these achievements.

Data centers bring a world of benefits to people everywhere, making what was once unthinkable now commonplace. Remote medical appointments, anytime travel planning, access to music, literature, cinema, and knowledge of the world and space from virtually anywhere. Navigating street by street through cities we might never visit or using satellite views to virtually fly over parks, mountains, forests, oceans, and deserts. Communicating with loved ones far away in real-time. Buying and selling goods and services paired with providers and customers worldwide. Data centers enable all these activities.

When people understand what data centers do for them every single day, they are more likely to recognize and appreciate these benefits. However, there is an opportunity to do even more in neighborhoods, cities, open spaces, and waterways, where data center providers can demonstrate their commitment to being good neighbors and contribute to making the world a better, more connected, and more open place than ever before.