Microsoft is moving forward with a new phase of data center construction in West Des Moines that city officials say reflects a significant shift in how large-scale computing facilities use local water supplies.
The company’s next two data center buildings in the city will use what Microsoft describes as zero-water cooling technology, a system designed to dramatically reduce, and in some cases nearly eliminate, the water needed to prevent server overheating. One of those facilities recently received final site plan approval from the West Des Moines City Council.
The move comes after years of growing concern among local leaders and residents about the strain data centers can place on municipal water systems. During peak summer months in 2023, data centers accounted for as much as 11.5 million gallons of water use per month in West Des Moines, roughly six percent of the city’s total demand.
Microsoft has been expanding its footprint in the city for more than a decade, developing five data center campuses, each representing construction investments exceeding $1 billion. Two additional buildings are still under construction. In 2023, city officials signaled they would only consider future data center proposals that substantially reduced peak water use, a position that placed pressure on operators to rethink cooling designs.
Closed-Loop Systems
The data center technology now being deployed by Microsoft relies on closed-loop systems that circulate cooling fluid between servers and chillers without continuous evaporation. While small amounts of water are still used, largely for administrative purposes, consumption is negligible compared to traditional evaporative cooling systems.
West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble has praised Microsoft’s approach, noting that the company has consistently remained within agreed water limits and has invested heavily in local water infrastructure.
Water use has become an increasingly sensitive issue in the Des Moines area. Last year, the city implemented its first lawn-watering ban, driven by concerns over nitrate levels in area rivers and the ability of utilities to meet drinking water standards during high-demand periods. Environmental advocates have also raised alarms about chemicals associated with conventional data center cooling that can ultimately be discharged into waterways.
Local utility officials have sought to put the data center debate in context. West Des Moines Water Works has said that data centers account for between two and seven percent of daily water usage, and that lawn-watering restrictions would have been enacted regardless of data center consumption. Microsoft, which operates five facilities in the city, ranked sixth among water users in May 2025, consuming 2.1 million gallons that month.
At the same time, Microsoft has been the city’s largest total water user over a recent twelve-month period. Yet utility officials say the company has complied with all restrictions and remains a cooperative partner.
A Larger Shift in Cooling Technologies
The West Des Moines projects reflect a broader shift within Microsoft’s global data center strategy. Beginning in August 2024, the company moved to standardize next-generation cooling designs that avoid evaporative water loss. Those systems are expected to save more than 125 million liters of water per data center each year, globally, while supporting the increasing demands of AI workloads.
The approach comes with tradeoffs: Mechanical cooling systems typically require more electricity than water-based designs, raising energy consumption slightly. Microsoft says advances in chip-level cooling and higher operating temperature thresholds help offset those increases, keeping overall efficiency within acceptable margins.
Across the data center sector, water-free facilities remain rare. The systems are more complex and costly than conventional cooling, limiting widespread adoption. Still, as water scarcity becomes a more pressing concern in many regions, Microsoft’s West Des Moines facilities may serve as an early example of how large-scale data infrastructure can adapt.
