A new $1.2 billion recycled water plant, built to help Western Sydney withstand drought, is raising questions over whether its output could end up cooling data centres.
The Badu Yarragul Water Resource Recovery Facility at Kemps Creek began operating last month. It treats 35 million litres of wastewater a day, about 14 Olympic pools’ worth, and is slated to expand to 70 million litres as Sydney’s population grows.
Water treatment expert Professor Stuart Khan, author of more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, says data centre demand was never factored into the Greater Sydney Water Strategy, which dates from 2022. That plan estimated recycled water schemes could supply up to 140 gigalitres a year over the coming decades. If that supply is redirected to a new industry the strategy didn’t anticipate, he argues, planners will have to find replacement water for the customers who lose out.
Professor Khan says the issue reflects a lack of “big picture perspective.” He accepts that data centres offer real opportunities for Sydney, but says the state needs to think carefully about how recycled water is prioritised.
Neither the facility’s environmental impact statement nor its environment protection licence names data centres. Both do refer to “industrial and business use.”
