National Water Services Commission (SPAN) chairman Charles Santiago said the 72 data centres in Johor, 27 in Selangor and two in Negeri Sembilan had requested 808 million litres per day (MLD) but only 142.06 MLD were approved.

“This is a result of insufficient supply of water to facilitate these data centres. Hence, alternative resources must be considered,” said Santiago at a press conference here.

Data centres consume huge amounts of water and power for their cooling systems.

Santiago said data centres must look into the use of alternative water sources, such as reclaimed water and seawater.

However, he noted that the availability and adequacy of such alternative sources are dependent on their location.

He also said the government has to assess the country’s preparedness in establishing hyperscale data centres — which consume more water — and consider setting limits on their development after taking into account the nation’s water resource status.

Santiago said it was crucial for guidelines to be put in place to ensure that other industries, which also depend heavily on water supply, are not affected by the emergence of hyperscale data centres.

“Each hyperscale data centre requires up to 17.5 MLD to operate,” he said, adding that the amount is equivalent to seven Olympic-sized swimming pools.

“Developers are interested in setting up hyperscale data centres here. This is why we urgently need guidelines,” he said.

Last month, SPAN urged the government to establish regulations on water usage limits for industries, including data centres, as they are known to use large amounts of water.