Data centers use enormous amounts of water to cool server farms and water management will become a more pressing issue as water usage is being pushed to be on par with carbon emissions.

According to the New York Times, at least 302 companies will be asked to report their water use to the Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP Water Disclosure will ask for information related to overall water use, risks and opportunities in operations and supply chains, as well as water management and improvement plans.

While PUE is currently making headlines as a data center efficiency metric, water use in the data center is emerging as the latest disclosure challenge, reports Data Center Knowledge. Data centers use enormous amounts of water to cool server farms and water management will become a more pressing issue as water usage is being pushed to be on par with carbon emissions.

Cloud computing has also increased the amount of water needed to keep data centers cool. Google and Microsoft have already been noted for their steps taken to reduce water usage in some of their facilities. As water usage is followed more closely, companies are going to need to follow in their footsteps.