4 Minutes
Unconventional conservation: why the UK is asking you to tidy your inbox
As England grapples with its driest six months since 1976 and reservoirs dip well below seasonal norms, the UK National Drought Group has added an unexpected item to its water-saving playbook: delete old emails and pictures. The group, which brings together government bodies, water companies and environmental experts, argues that reducing stored digital data could indirectly ease pressure on the water-intensive cooling systems used by data centers that power email, cloud storage and AI services.
How digital storage links to water and server cooling
Data centers underpin modern online life. From personal email accounts to large-scale generative AI workloads, they require reliable cooling to maintain optimal server performance. Many facilities use evaporative cooling systems or water-cooled chillers that consume significant volumes of water, especially in high-density computing environments. The idea behind a digital declutter is simple: less data stored could mean fewer active servers and lower utilisation, potentially reducing cooling demand and associated water use.
Product features and technology involved
- Cloud storage platforms: scalable object storage and block storage offered by major providers with lifecycle policies to auto-delete or archive old files.
- Data management tools: email cleaners, duplicate photo finders, and automated retention rules that help reduce storage footprint.
- Cooling technologies: comparison between air-cooled, liquid-cooled and evaporative systems and how each impacts water consumption.
- Monitoring and smart metering: tools used by water companies and data centers to measure leakage and power/water usage effectiveness (PUE/WUE).
Comparisons and advantages
Compared with structural interventions like patching leaks or upgrading reservoir infrastructure, a personal digital cleanup is low-cost and immediate. The advantages include easier implementation, improved personal data hygiene and reduced storage bills. However, deleting a few gigabytes of photos likely has a much smaller impact than corporate data lifecycle policies, server consolidation or switching to air- or liquid-cooled systems with lower water intensity.
Use cases and practical tips for tech users
For consumers and IT teams seeking to contribute to lower data center load, practical actions include applying retention policies to old mailboxes, archiving seldom-accessed data to cold storage, enabling deduplication on cloud storage and using provider tools to identify large unused objects. Businesses can adopt product features such as automated tiering, backup pruning and data compression to reduce long-term storage demand.
Market relevance and broader implications
Demand for cloud storage and compute driven by streaming, big data and generative AI continues to grow, making data center water and energy footprints an industry focus. Cloud providers and hyperscalers are investing in water-efficient cooling, renewable power, and regional data placement to optimise WUE and carbon intensity. Regulators and customers increasingly factor environmental impact into procurement and service design, raising market pressure for sustainable infrastructure.
What experts say and the realistic impact
Experts caution that while data centers do use substantial water, there is limited evidence that individual users deleting small amounts of data will measurably reduce cooling needs. Structural fixes like leak repairs, reservoir management and reduced network peak loads are likely to deliver faster, larger benefits. Still, the inclusion of digital decluttering in public guidance highlights a growing recognition that online infrastructure has physical environmental costs, and everyday digital habits can form part of a collective response.
As Helen Wakeham, Director of Water at the Environment Agency, noted in public guidance, simple everyday choices at home and online can contribute to reducing demand and protecting rivers and wildlife. Combining conventional water-saving measures with smarter data management may not solve the drought alone, but it expands the toolkit for a resource-constrained future.
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