Microsoft's next data center buildings to use "zero-water" technologyA large industrial facility under construction with three long buildings wi...

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Microsoft's next data center buildings to use "zero-water" technology
A large industrial facility under construction with three long buildings with white roofs, surrounded by parking lots, roads with orange barricades, green fields, and a small water body.
The upcoming fifth building of Microsoft's Ginger East Data Center in West Des Moines will use the company's latest zero-water cooling technology. Photo: Courtesy of the City of West Des Moines

Microsoft's next two data center buildings in West Des Moines will use new "zero-water" cooling technology, company officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: Communities across the country have wrestled for years with concerns that large data centers can strain local water supplies, especially during peak summer demand.

Catch up quick: In the last decade, Microsoft has launched five data center campuses in WDM, with two still under construction.

Each site represents over $1 billion in construction investments.
Flashback: In 2023, WDM city leaders said they would consider only future data center projects that implement technology that significantly reduces peak water use — potentially stymieing future proposals or the full development of ongoing projects.

At the time, data centers were consuming as much as 11.5 million gallons of water per month for cooling, or about 6% of WDM's total use during peak summer.
State of play: Microsoft launched designs in 2024 that continuously circulate water between servers and chillers to achieve "ultra-low" usage.

The fine print: Data center buildings that use zero-water cooling still use small amounts of water, but the consumption is negligible compared to those that use traditional cooling methods, according to the trade publication Data Center Knowledge.

The big picture: Implementing zero-water technology is a goal among a few data center operators.

The systems are still relatively new and often more complex and costly than traditional water cooling methods, limiting broad adoption, per Data Center Knowledge.
Zoom in: Last week, the council approved a site plan modification for the fifth and final building at Microsoft's 124-acre Ginger East data center at 1475 SE Maffitt Lake Road.

Another planned building at the company's nearby Ginger West data center will also use zero-water technology, Rich Massie, senior director of datacenter operations, tells Axios.
SOURCE: https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2026/01/16/microsoft-west-des-moines-data-center-water-zero

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