Pestridge said Telehouse’s data centre had a closed water system and the yearly water usage from the nation’s data centres was “less than the water lost to leakage in a single day”.
He added that Telehouse’s electricity came from wind farms in the North Sea and they had equipment to dampen sound for neighbours.
“We haven’t done a very good job of educating people about how much electricity and water we use,” Pestridge said.
Water companies in England and Wales lose more than 3bn litres every day through leaking pipes – approximately a fifth of all the water put into supply, external.
A full year of data centre potable water use is approximately 1.88bn litres, external.
A Water UK spokesperson said they “desperately” wanted to supply the resource needed by data centres, but needed authorisation to invest ahead of demand.
“After having reservoir applications repeatedly blocked, we have finally been given approval to build 10, which will take years to complete,” they said.
The data centre argument in Charlton is unlikely to be the last.
As the physical home for the computing power used by phones, computers and AI, the demand for these centres will grow.
Yet in a city facing affordable housing shortages and competition for land, each proposed development is also likely to face questions about what London’s communities need most.