In brief
In Batam, Indonesia, a wave of protests erupted as residents see water taps go dry while data‑centres in the new Nongsa Digital Park consume vast amounts of water. Local communities claim that the growth of AI‑driven infrastructure is draining the island’s reservoirs, forcing them to rely on tanker trucks for “dirty, cloudy and smelly” water. While the islands water utility cites a prolonged dry spell, experts warn that data‑centres can use up to 300,000 gallons a day, enough to supply a thousand households. The conflict has prompted the government to demand that future data‑centres build their own desalination plants and to publicly disclose water usage, as residents demand a return to reliable water services.
In a dramatic demonstration, about 300 residents of Batam stormed the compound of a data‑centre in the rising Nongsa Digital Park, pelting the complex with empty plastic bottles and jerry cans.
“Water! Water!” the crowd shouted as their tap water ran dry for the past three months, while the servers that keep the island’s high‑performance computing humming demand a steady stream of cooling water.
Local authorities cited a prolonged dry spell and an approaching El Niño, but residents insist that the data‑centres are siphoning the same freshwater the island relies on, and they have begun to rely on tanker trucks that deliver water described as “dirty, cloudy and smelly.”
Researchers estimate that a typical data‑centre can consume around 300,000 gallons of water a day—roughly the amount needed by 1,000 average households. In Batam, where the entire population of 1.3 million relies on six man‑made reservoirs, the strain is acute.
BP Batam, the body that licenses industry, has now demanded that all new data‑centres install independent desalination plants. Across the region, similar pressure has emerged in Malaysia’s Johor state, which recently tightened rules on water and power consumption for tech facilities.
At least ten data‑centres are approved in the island, with an investment of more than $6.7 bn pledged by mid‑2026. The anticipated energy draw by 2030 is projected to exceed 1,100 MW—enough to power nearly one million homes—questioning whether the cost is sustainable if freshwater is already scarce.
Local academics stress that transparent data on water usage is essential: “We must build data centres rationally, transparently, and responsibly, and insist on seeing the numbers… otherwise those kept in the dark while their taps run dry will push back, and rightly so,” argues Professor Agus Hasan of NTNU.
In the meantime, residents have taken to the streets, demanding that city planners and the government address their basic need for clean, affordable water before the island’s digital aspirations drown the community.
