Data Centers' Water Crunch: Why Recycling Wastewater—Not Urine—Is the Real Solution

A viral marketing stunt by Liquid Death and ex-NFL player Jason Kelce jokingly proposed funneling human urine into data centers to address their massive water consumption. While deliberately absurd, the campaign unwittingly points to a real challenge: AI facilities burn through enormous quantities of water for cooling, and treated wastewater—which includes processed urine and sewage—is emerging as a legitimate partial solution.

The Viral Premise vs. Reality#

The commercial features Kelce quipping that "AI data centers waste millions of gallons of water," before promoting a fictional partnership to collect human waste for cooling purposes. Humorous as it sounds, industry experts confirmed that recycled water sources are already in use at scale for data center cooling, making the core idea less far-fetched than it initially appears.

Yet direct use of raw urine would be impractical. "Pee contains salts, urea, bacteria, and organic matter that leave mineral deposits and require constant cleaning," according to Bruno Pigott, executive director of the WateReuse Association and former EPA water administrator. "If you poured urine through hot air for evaporative cooling, it would be a maintenance nightmare."

How Recycled Water Actually Works#

The actual answer lies in modern water treatment infrastructure. Wastewater treatment facilities deploy membrane bioreactors, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light, and other technologies to purify sewage—including urine—until it meets industrial standards. Some facilities can even treat it to drinking-water quality, a process astronauts have employed in space for decades.

"We use recycled water for cooling across many industries, and have for decades," said Greta Zornes, a water-reuse practice leader at engineering firm CDM Smith. Data center demand, however, is reshaping her daily work: "Every day right now, I'm working on recycled water for data centers."

When facilities use treated wastewater instead of potable supplies, they reduce pressure on local drinking-water reserves—a critical shift as AI infrastructure expands.

The Infrastructure Gap#

Recycled water deployment requires proximity to large wastewater treatment plants. Rural data center developments often lack this advantage. In Loudoun County, Virginia—home to over 250 data centers—recycled water accounted for only 43% of daily consumption as of 2025, leaving facilities to draw 260 million gallons daily from potable supplies.