Bridge Data Centre has partnered with Johor Special Water to build what it says is Malaysia’s first water reclamation plant integrated into a data center.

The project, located at BDC’s MY07 campus in Ulu Tiram, Johor, will use treated wastewater from a nearby Indah Water Konsortium facility, which will be processed for use in data center cooling.

The plant employs membrane bioreactor and reverse osmosis technologies to convert effluent into high-grade water.

Bridge Data Centre, based in Malaysia, said the initiative aims to reduce reliance on potable water and support environmental goals in Johor.

The company said the project complies with guidelines from the National Water Services Commission, and is in its final commissioning phase, with full operations expected by Q4 2025.

Bridge Data Centre operates or is developing six data centers in Malaysia.

.source-ref{font-size:0.85em;color:#666;display:block;margin-top:1em;}a.ask-tia-citation-link:hover{color:#11628d !important;background:#e9f6f5 !important;border-color:#11628d !important;text-decoration:none !important;}@media only screen and (min-width:768px){a.ask-tia-citation-link{font-size:11px !important;}}

🔗 Source: Bridge Data Center

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Data centers face mounting pressure from massive water consumption demands

The scale of water usage driving BDC’s innovative approach becomes clear when considering industry-wide consumption patterns.

Data centers average approximately 300,000 gallons of water daily for cooling operations, with the U.S. data center industry collectively consuming around 163.7 billion gallons annually12.

A single medium-sized data center can use roughly 110 million gallons per year, equivalent to the water consumption of about 1,000 households2.

This massive demand is intensifying rapidly due to AI growth, with projections showing water usage could reach 6.6 billion cubic meters globally by 20271.

Such consumption levels have sparked community protests against new data center developments in drought-prone regions, creating regulatory and social pressure for operators to find alternative water sources rather than competing with residential supplies.

2️⃣ Water reclamation represents an evolution from conservation to circular resource management

BDC’s integration of a water reclamation plant within their data center facility reflects nearly a century of advancing water treatment technology and philosophy.

The concept traces back to facilities like the Grand Canyon Water Reclamation Plant, established in 1926 as one of America’s first such facilities, which treated wastewater for non-potable uses in water-scarce environments3.

Modern data center operators are now moving beyond basic conservation measures to implement comprehensive circular water strategies, including rainwater harvesting, condensate recovery, and wastewater recycling4.

This shift aligns with major tech companies’ commitments to become “water positive” by 2030, meaning they aim to replenish more water than they consume4.

BDC’s approach of converting treated effluent into high-grade reclaimed water through advanced MBR and RO technologies represents the current frontier of this evolution, transforming what was once waste into a valuable operational resource.

……