“A Creative Water Solution for a Dutch Data Center”

The Netherlands has a unique relationship with water. One-third of the country lies below sea level, and almost 20% of the mainland is water — largely due to the 6,000 kilometers of waterways that support industry and recreation.

Pumping, diverting, and blocking water made the Netherlands possible, turning it into a vital European trading hub and top agricultural exporter. But now, the masters of controlling water are facing a new challenge: worsening drought.

That’s why Google partnered with North Water, a Dutch water treatment company, to harness water from a network of canals to cool our data center.

The €‎45 million project featured construction of a pipeline that can carry 10 million cubic meters of water each year to the data center. It also required a new treatment plant to treat and filter the water. The project illustrates the creative, sustainable methods for cooling data centers that Google is deploying around the world.

Learn more about Google’s water sustainability commitments.

After you listen to the episode, watch a short documentary film featuring Inge talking about the North Water partnership and her concerns about and hopes for the future of the Netherlands.