April 8, 2026
JAKARTA – Rising demand for data centers amid the global artificial intelligence craze has significantly increased the need for water to power the systems, causing shortage risks that have pushed industry players to be efficient in using the available resources.
“Moving forward, water will become the second strategic issue after energy in developing data centers,” said the Indonesian Data Center Provider Organization (IDPRO) chairman Hendra Suryakusuma.
He told The Jakarta Post on March 30 that water consumption in data centers depends on the cooling technology used. Air-cooled chiller systems consume very little water. Meanwhile, water-cooled systems, such as a cooling tower or evaporative cooling system, typically consume significant amounts of water.
Citing a global benchmark, he noted that hyperscale data centers could use 1 million to 5 million liters of water per day, especially for evaporative cooling systems.
In Indonesia, the majority of older data centers use chilled water and cooling towers, leading to relatively high water consumption. Meanwhile, the newer generation of data centers like hyperscale and modern colocation centers are beginning to adopt air-cooled chillers with economizers, which help reduce water reliance, he said.
Data center development in the country has been concentrated around the Greater Jakarta area, a region that is also facing water shortage issues, as well as Batam in Riau Island.
Joint research conducted by the Post’s affiliated think tank Tenggara Strategics and other institutions revealed that, beyond the risk of acute shocks, both Jakarta and Batam face chronic climatic inefficiencies. Situated in hot and humid lowland environments, data centers in these locations must rely on energy-intensive mechanical cooling systems operating at high loads throughout the year.
“This structural reliance results in higher power usage effectiveness [PUE] ratios, elevated water consumption and larger operational carbon footprints,” the report reads.
Hendra from IDPRO acknowledged that securing a water supply had become part of the challenges faced by the data center industry.
Limited water supply from local water processing company (PDAM) has prompted a lack of stable supply in many industrial areas. Furthermore, Jakarta’s reliance on groundwater poses risks of land subsidence. There are also challenges related to competition for water resources from other sectors and the need to maintain water quality, which requires additional treatment.
These challenges have pushed some operators in the industry to avoid using large-scale cooling towers and instead to start designing systems with minimal water dependency.
Operators are also eying locations outside of Jakarta, considering water supply and supporting utility infrastructure.
To make water usage more efficient, Hendra pointed to several global best practices, such as using air-cooler chillers and indirect or direct air economizers that offer low, even near-zero water usage.
Data centers can also adopt liquid and immersion cooling systems, which are effective for high-density AI workloads. Other strategies to conserve more water include implementing water recycling and reuse practices, as well as exploring alternative water sources, such as rainwater harvesting and reclaimed water.
Hotmauli Sidabalok, researcher at Yayasan Amerta Air Indonesia, stressed the need for strengthening governance of water use and permitting regulations, ensuring data centers are built in suitable locations, adopting efficient cooling systems and proper water management.
“The situation may lead to environmental injustice. Human needs, with water being a basic necessity, compete with the demands of data centers. Not to mention the broader implications for ecosystem inequality. This becomes even more concerning in the context of climate change, which is already contributing to increasing water scarcity,” she told the Post on March 30.
While water consumption has become an emerging issue within the data center industry, reliable data on water usage by data centers in Indonesia remains limited.
Ayom Mratita Purbandani, researcher at Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) Center for Digital Society (CfDS), said that many companies treat water consumption data as “proprietary information” and are reluctant to disclose it. This lack of transparency has hampered the community and regulators from effectively assessing the impact of data centers on water supply.
Data centers must be obliged to report their water usage effectiveness (WUE) regularly and openly to both the government and the public, she urged, adding that data center permits must also be tightened and consider the environmental capacity of the surrounding area, especially the impact on water resources.
Meanwhile, the government could introduce incentives in the sector, such as perks for using water-efficient technologies or recycled water.
Ayom added that deploying a community benefits agreement (CBA), which serves as a legally binding contract between project developers and community groups or local municipalities, was a crucial tool to prevent social inequality given that local communities are often sidelined during the decision-making process of building data centers.