In brief
On the Indonesian island of Batam, a crowd of around 300 residents stormed the Nongsa Digital Park, accusing data centres of hogging water needed for homes. The protest comes amid reports of a 3‑month tap‑water drought on the island, which relies solely on six artificial reservoirs. While authorities say poor rainfall and a super‑El Niño are to blame, local activists insist the cooling systems of the data centres are draining the limited freshwater supply. Analysts warn that without transparent water‑use data, communities risk further shortages and pushback. With over $6.7 billion invested in data‑centre infrastructure, Batam’s future hinges on balancing digital growth and basic civic needs.
Around one‑third of Batam’s 1.3 million residents marched on the island’s new Nongsa Digital Park, shouting “Water! Water!” and waving empty plastic bottles. The demonstrators, mostly village dwellers, say the taps in their homes have been dry for the last three months, while the data‑centre cooling towers “keep hydrated.”
Dewi Susanti, a villager from Bakau Serip, told reporters that when no tap water arrives, she must rely on tanker trucks that deliver “dirty, cloudy and smelly” water. “We pour money into buying rice, not water drums,” she said.
Batam’s water utility said it is working to improve supply, but it declined to link the problem to the data‑centres. BP Batam, the agency that licences such projects, blamed a prolonged dry spell and said the data‑centres were using only a fraction of the supply, denying any diversion of tap water to servers.
The protest arrives in the wake of three earlier demonstrations last year, after which authorities required new data‑centre operators to build their own desalination plants. Yet many residents warn that even with desalination, competition for water continues as the infrastructure grows.
Experts say data‑centres can consume up to 300 000 gallons of water per day—roughly the amount used by 1 000 US households. While the precise figures for Batam remain hidden, the island’s reservoirs are already threatened by a historic super‑El Niño, and a local NGO predicts that the main Nongsa reservoir will dry within a month if rainfall does not return.
Data‑centre operators are eyeing Batam because of its low operating costs, proximity to Singapore and connections to major subsea cables. From the US to China, investors are pouring billions into AI infrastructure, often at the cost of local resources.
Current approvals number ten facilities, six already situated in Nongsa, with several more under review. The island’s projected electricity demand from data‑centres could reach 1,100 MW by 2030, enough to power nearly a million homes, but water use remains unregulated.
Residents urge authorities to prioritize their basic needs over megacapital projects. As the debate continues, the question remains: can Batam pursue digital growth while ensuring water for its own people?
