In brief
On 11 October 2026, Batam residents stormed the new Nongsa digital park, demanding water for homes that has been absent for months. The protests highlight the strain a growing data‑centre industry places on the island’s limited freshwater reserves, with each centre potentially drawing enough water to serve a thousand households. Government agencies blame a dry spell, but the lack of transparency around water consumption fuels distrust. As Batam escalates its push to become a regional digital hub, the clash underscores the global urgency of sustainable tech infrastructure.
Residents of Batam, Indonesia, took to the streets on 11 October 2026, chanting “Water! Water!” after three months of taps running dry. Their target was the sprawling campuses of the new Nongsa digital park, where dozens of data‑centre giants claim an enormous share of the island’s limited fresh‑water supply.
In Bakau Serip, a village that relies on the nearby Nongsa reservoir, local water is now ferried in tanker trucks that deliver “dirty, cloudy and smelly” water. The island’s utility says it is working to improve supply, but silence on whether the data centres are the cause has only intensified frustration.
Data‑centres in Batam – 10 approved so far, six in Nongsa – have attracted investment of more than $6.7 bn by mid‑2026. Projects ranging from 450MW to 360MW of AI capacity promise to power up to 350,000 households, yet their water needs are unclear. International research suggests a typical data‑centre can consume up to 300,000 gallons per day – roughly the amount of water used by 1,000 US families.
The island’s freshwater comes from six artificial reservoirs that collect rainwater alone. The Nongsa reservoir, which supplies Bakau Serip, is projected to dry out within a month under current climate conditions, exacerbated by a “super” El Niño event. Local NGOs warn that, without intervention, the water deficit could force the entire island to ration water and electricity.
Government officials argue the shortfall is a natural consequence of a prolonged dry period. Meanwhile, data‑centre developers insist they will install on‑site desalination plants to offset consumption, but residents demand accountability and clearer figures. “We want the government to pay attention to ordinary people,” says Marlinda of Sei Beduk, another neighbourhood facing shortages.
Global scrutiny is mounting as data‑centres proliferate from the US to Asia. The environmental strain of cooling systems, which rely heavily on water, is a key concern for climate science advocates. Transparent, publicly available usage data is often missing because it is considered proprietary, prompting calls from experts like Dr. Agus Hasan for a regulatory framework that obliges disclosure.
The situation in Batam mirrors debates elsewhere: a push for digital infrastructure must be balanced against the imperative to sustain local ecosystems and communities. Without strategic planning, new data‑centres could become a catalyst for water scarcity and social unrest, undermining the very sustainability goals they claim to support.
