Data centres in 3 states expected to use 445mil litres of water daily

PETALING JAYA: Data centres in the states of Selangor, Johor and Negeri Sembilan are expected to require 445.04 million litres of water per day (MLD) between 2025 and 2030.

However, energy transition and water transformation minister Fadillah Yusof said these data centres were only using 28.68 MLD of water as of January 2026.

“This represents 51.4% of the total water demand for operating data centres, which is 55.83 MLD of water,” he said in a written parliamentary reply to Mumtaz Nawi (PN-Tumpat).

Fadillah, who is also deputy prime minister, maintained that the government takes a balanced approach to data centres to support the industry’s development while safeguarding and prioritising the water supply needs of domestic users.

He said each data centre development application is holistically evaluated by Putrajaya’s data centre task force, which is composed of officers from various ministries and agencies.

“In its evaluation, the availability of resources and water supply is studied thoroughly so that any data centre development will not affect the margins of treated water reserves and domestic water supply needs.

“Data centre applications will not be considered if the water supply system capacity of an area is found to be insufficient, or if the development affects the needs of existing users,” he said.

He added that the National Water Services Commission, or SPAN, has come up with water supply guidelines for data centre developments.