Amazon's global data centers consumed 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025, and the company chose to disclose it for the first time right after Seattle moved to freeze new data center permits.
The figure comes from Amazon's own reporting and works out to 0.12 liters of water per kilowatt-hour of electricity used. That is down two percent from 2024, even as Amazon expanded operations. The company also claims its efficiency compares favorably to some Big Tech competitors, though the graphic in its report is conveniently silent on which rivals it measured against and on what basis.
The timing matters. Seattle enacted a one-year data center moratorium — one that some Amazon employees reportedly pushed for — shortly before this disclosure appeared. Water and energy consumption at AI data centers have become live political questions in cities across the country, and voluntary transparency can move faster than regulation. Amazon publishing this number now, for the first time in its history, is not a coincidence; it is a pre-emption.
A two-percent efficiency improvement while expanding operations is a real result, but efficiency ratios only tell part of the story when the underlying footprint is still growing. As AI workloads scale and cooling demands rise with them, a smaller number per kilowatt-hour can still mean more absolute gallons next year.