In brief
Three hundred residents of Batam marched to the Nongsa Digital Park demanding water restoration after data‑centre cooling systems were blamed for draining the island’s reservoirs. The protest highlighted the clash between the growing digital infrastructure and the island’s limited freshwater supply, with locals citing dry taps and tanker‑brought water. While authorities cite a dry spell, data‑centres are projected to consume water at the rate of thousands of households per day, raising concerns about equity and sustainability.
Protest erupts over water shortages amid data‑centre push
Three hundred residents of Batam marched to the Nongsa Digital Park on Friday, demanding that the island’s dwindling water supplies be restored after data‑centre operations were blamed for depleting the reservoirs that feed 1.3 million people.
The protest, which involved empty plastic bottles and jerry cans, was led by Dewi Susanti of Bakau Serip, who said the taps at home had been dry for three months and that fuel for the parks’ cooling systems was draining the only source of freshwater. “We now rely on tanker trucks that bring dirty, cloudy water,” she told reporters.
While the Batam water utility said it was improving supply, the authorities did not confirm whether the data‑centres were responsible. BP Batam, the trade and industry agency, attributed the shortage to a prolonged dry spell; it denied that residential water had been siphoned off for cooling.
Batam’s drive to become a “digital hub” has attracted ten data‑centre projects, of which six sit in the newly‑built Nongsa Digital Park. The largest, a 450‑MW facility by a Singapore‑based firm, is slated to use as much water as 2,200 households per day, according to estimates from Malaysia’s central bank. By 2030 the island’s data‑centre power demand is projected to exceed 1,100 MW, enough to power almost a million homes.
Residents fear that the infrastructure boom will continue to outstrip local resources. “Don’t just approve these projects and leave us in the dark,” urged Marlinda from the district of Sei Beduk, who stresses the need for water restoration before further investment.
The protest underscores a growing global discontent with the water and energy consumption of data‑centres, a trend that has seen governments in the US, UK and parts of Asia tighten regulations on new projects. This week’s demonstration in Batam is the latest in a string of rallies calling for transparency and shared resource management.
