Forget a hosepipe ban - UK government suggests we help combat drought by deleting old emails and pictures

Date:
Sat, 16 Aug 2025 10:26:00 +0000

Description:
UK authorities link digital storage habits to water conservation amid a nationally significant drought.

FULL STORY

The UK government has proposed an unconventional way to contribute to water conservation during the countrys ongoing drought - deleting old emails and pictures.

ThE suggestion came from the National Drought Group , which includes
government agencies, water companies, and environmental experts.

The ongoing drought in England has been declared a national incident
following the driest six months since 1976.

Six months of extreme dryness prompt government-level alert

The reasoning behind the advice is linked to the operation of data centers, which support services such as email hosting , cloud storage, and email services .

These facilities use large volumes of water to cool servers and maintain optimal performance, so by reducing the amount of stored data, the argument goes, demand on data center capacity could be lowered, potentially cutting water consumption.

However, the real-world effect of such personal digital cleanups is
uncertain.

While data centers do consume large amounts of water, particularly in high-density computing operations, experts have not presented clear evidence showing that deleting small amounts of personal data measurably reduces their cooling needs.

Critics suggest that structural changes, like reducing leaks and improving water infrastructure, would have a more immediate and tangible impact.

The drought has already prompted hosepipe bans in parts of Yorkshire, the
South East, and other affected regions.

Reservoirs have dropped to 67.7% capacity on average across England, far
below the early August norm of over 80%.

Some are now below 50%, with river flows at historically low levels in
certain areas.

Prolonged dry conditions and multiple heatwaves have worsened the situation, affecting agriculture, wildlife, and public water supply.

Water companies have intensified leak repairs, with some fixing over 800 each week, and smart meters are being used to identify problem areas.

Public awareness campaigns have encouraged traditional water-saving actions such as taking shorter showers, fixing leaking toilets, and collecting rainwater for garden use.

The inclusion of a digital storage cleanup in official conservation messaging reflects a broader recognition that water consumption is linked not only to domestic and industrial activities, but also to the infrastructure supporting online life.

The growing demand for cloud storage and generative AI has added to the load
on data centers, and environmental reports have shown measurable water use
from AI processing tasks.

Whether deleting old files will have an impact on water supplies remains open to question.

However, England is in dire need of a solution for the drought, and small, everyday actions, whether at home or online, are part of the collective
effort to protect the countrys strained water resources.

"Simple, everyday choices, such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails, also help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife," said Helen Wakeham, Director of Water at the Environment Agency.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/forget-a-hosepipe-ban-uk-government-suggests-we- help-combat-drought-by-deleting-old-emails-and-pictures

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Well,

I have always said both the cloud and AI are bad.

I do not use cloud storage persoanlly, so don't be pointing fingers here!

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On Sun 17-Aug-2025 10:56a, Mike Powell@1:2320/105.0 said to Rug Rat:

I don't (on purpose anyway) here, either. My guess is that they want the extra storage that "the cloud" is using for AI and are therefore blaming cloud users for what is really being caused by increased AI usage...
energy
and water usage, etc.

Technically speaking, in a closed loop cooling system, there should be minimal waterloss, except for the possibility of increased evaporation due to artifical heating of your cooling ponds.

Increased energy usage for cloud and AI BAD!
Increased energy usage by forcing everyone to adopt Electric Vehicles GOOD.

Sounds to me like the old adage , "If you think the problem's bad now. Wait'l we solve it!"

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Reminds me of the song, "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)"

"In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you"

"Now it's been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears"

"In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive."

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Hello Rug Rat!

** On Monday 18.08.25 - 20:04, Rug Rat wrote to Mike Powell:

Reminds me of the song, "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)"

"In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you"

A favourite. I think I still have the original 45rpm!

The beginning is reminiscent of Conquistador[LIVE]: Procol
Harum

Check out Eve of Destruction: Barry McGuire.

--
../|ug

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On Mon 18-Aug-2025 11:17p, August Abolins@1:396/45.29 said to Rug Rat:

Check out Eve of Destruction: Barry McGuire.

Always loved that song, "When you think of all the hate there is in Red China, take a look around down in Selma, Alabama.".

"You may leave here for 4 days in space, but when you return it's the same ol place."

(Judge not lest ye be judged).
(Polish a turd, its still a turd).

A bit of trivia. After his one hit wonder he left the music business and because a minister.

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On Tue 19-Aug-2025 8:33a, Rob Mccart@1:2320/105.0 said to Mike Powell:

If I recall this was more about water usage than electricity use but suggestied that less data stored on servers would reduce the amount
of water needed to cool them. I'd think a big part of the water part
of it would depend on if coolant is recycled or just dumped with new
water coming in to replace it, and where that water is coming from.
Pretty much anything could be used but I suppose if the servers are
in a city then it's a huge waste of clean, processed, drinking water.

In the case of water usage, electricity generation and water go hand in hand. As water is used for either steam for the turbines, or for cooling. Leaking pipes or evaperation in the cooling ponds will result in a net loss. So more power = more heat = more water used.

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On Thu 21-Aug-2025 8:08a, Rob Mccart@1:2320/105.0 said to Rug Rat:

Also, there are lots of power plants that use water driven turbines
without heat, so much of that here that our power company is called
Ontario Hydro (or Hydro One).

Not sure about Canada, but in the US I can not think of any new dam projects being approved anywhere, as there has been a big enviromental backlash with the destruction of natural habitates creating the lake. Not to mention that in projects such as the Colorado River, the generation of electricity has always been secondary or tertiary. 1) Water and irrigation needs for desert communities such as Las Vegas, California, etc. 2) Flood Control, 3) Power Generation. Which in the case of the Colorado River, the water level is too low to generate power most of the time. So much of the load is still provided from conventional plants.

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On Thu 21-Aug-2025 8:08a, Rob Mccart@1:2320/105.0 said to Kurt Weiske:

Yes, I touched on that in a previous message.. I wouldn't think that
water used for cooling would be polluted to any great extent, but
you are still pulling it out of fresh drinking water in same cases
and possibly dumping it into the sewage treatment plants.

Even with nuclear power, there should be ZERO polution directly related to the cooling system. (but try to get the pulic to buy off on that idea). Now, you might have contamination of the water in the holding ponds or if pulling the water from a slow moving river source, due to increase in water temperature and pathogenic algea.

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On Thu 21-Aug-2025 9:21a, Mike Powell@1:2320/105.0 said to Rob Mccart:

While they are not a closed system in that they need to account for evaporation, don't many power plants (nuclear and some coal) have cooling towers to cool the water and presumably reuse it?

Evaporative cooling towers? Yes, some water can be reused, but by their very name, a vast quantity is lost into the atmosphere due evaporation. A Google search says depending on the system between 1 and 30% is reused.

The shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, and I am sure other sea water, and river fed plants did not use them either, as they were just discharged back into their source.

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On Fri 22-Aug-2025 10:49a, Mike Powell@1:2320/105.0 said to Rug Rat:

So much for nuclear power not having any affect on the climate, or global warming.

Compared to other forms of electrical power generation the effect to the climate / global warming would be minimal. Everything has some negative impact. Look at wind power for example.. Birds and bats (Which are key to the ecosytem, due to being seed dispersers and polinators <--- Bats..). are injured or killed due to strikes with the turbine blades.

The water vapor released into the atmosphere is quickly cooled and become clouds, the water is then released elsewhere in the form of rain. The water loss occures because it is not being replenished into it its original location.



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On Sat 23-Aug-2025 8:44a, Rob Mccart@1:2320/105.0 said to Rug Rat:

It's like the news.. mostly only bad news hits the front page.. B)

Or Facebook feed anlytics, you are only shown content that gets you upset, so you react and post more. Is that done intentionally OR is it simply that we tend to only put forh the efford to reply to posts that get our dander up?

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On Sat 23-Aug-2025 9:59a, Mike Powell@1:2320/105.0 said to Rob Mccart:

Those that want it to be "us" cannot stand the idea that nature might also be causing some of the issues, just as much as those who want it to be "nature" cannot stand the idea that we might also be a cause.

True. Look at all the "animal lovers" who think nature would be so peaceful without man. Holding on the the image that those lions, tigers, and bears are as huggable as the plushies on thier bookshelves.. (Nothing against plushies mind you <Nervously glancing at the plush bat beside him.>.

So many people have litterly been bitten in the butt on that incorrect assumption.

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