In brief
When Batam’s reservoirs ran dry, hundreds of villagers stormed a data‑centre compound demanding water access, citing over‑use by the new tech hub. The island, striving to be a digital magnet for Singapore‑based firms, is already grappling with a historic El Niño‑induced drought and limited rain‑water storage. While local water utilities say they are working to improve supply, data‑centre operators claim they rely on independent desalination plants. With investments exceeding $6.7bn and ten projects approved, the clash between economic ambition and basic needs sharpens the debate over sustainability of data‑centre infrastructure.
When the taps stopped working, about 300 residents of Bakau Serip marched on the compound housing several new data centres, demanding water from the same reservoirs used to cool servers. “Not a single drop has come through our taps for the last three months… Our water supply had been reliable until the data centres came,” a protester, Dewi Susanti, told reporters.
The island’s 1.3 million people depend on six artificial reservoirs that collect rainwater. With a historic El Niño and ongoing construction of up to ten data‑centre projects, authorities say the reservoirs will dry out within a month if rainfall fails to recharge them.
Bang Treasurer’s agency BP Batam insists the water drop coincides with a prolonged dry spell, while the local water utility says it is improving supply but declined to confirm a link to the data‑centres. Yet residents report a shift in the water flow, with tanker trucks delivering “dirty, cloudy and smelly” water to replace taps that have gone dry.
Data‑centres are engineered to consume vast amounts of water for cooling; a typical facility can use 300,000 gallons daily, roughly equal to the annual usage of 1,000 households. A 50‑MW centre could draw water enough for 2,200 households a day. The exact consumption of Batam’s facilities remains undisclosed, but some estimates anticipate 1,100 MW of power demand by 2030, enough to supply nearly a million homes.
The protests continue as investors from Singapore, the US, and China eye Batam’s low operating costs and proximity to major subsea cables to build AI‑heavy data‑centres. Residents demand that authorities enforce stricter water‑usage regulations and prioritize community needs over corporate expansion.
