Data center operator CyrusOne has announced that its facility in Carrollton Texas has become "water positive," by reducing its consumption and signing up to environmental projects to offset the water it uses.

The Carrollton announcement comes one year after CyrusOne reported that its campus in Chandler Arizona was water positive. Both announcements came on World Water Day, March 22.

Water reduction

Carollton is CyrusOne's largest data center in the United States and is located in a drought-prone region. The operator has been carrying out efficiency projects there for a year, which have reduced its consumption by 67 percent, using a cooling system that does not need water.

To offset the remainder of its water use, the company has signed up with environmental organizations, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and Trout Unlimited, which will restore water to regional watersheds which amounts to 20 percent more than the water CyrusOne consumed at the site in 2020.

CyrusOne previously worked with BEF in making Chandler water-positive.

Trout manages, stores, and delivers water to increase flows in waterways and facilitate groundwater recharge. It leases water, exchanges it at critical times, and shifts the timing of water delivery, to increase habitat for fish and provide community benefits.

“Data center operators across the world are becoming more aware of the significant water usage at these facilities,” said Kyle Myers, senior director of environmental health, safety and sustainability at CyrusOne.

CyrusOne has also begun to buy renewable energy, paying for 67MW of solar credits in Texas earlier this year. The company has promised to reach zero carbon by 2040 - but has also joined the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact, in which a group of European-led operators have promised to be climate-neutral by 2030.