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 and diverting and blocking water is what 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 its 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 partnership with North Water and Google’s water sustainability commitments). After you listen to the episode, watch a short documentary film about the project here). *
