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View all search resultsBatam residents protest data center expansion as water shortages worsen
Data centers can require substantial amounts of water, particularly for cooling servers. Large-scale facilities can consume as much as 5 million gallons a day, equivalent to the daily water needs of a city of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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People walk near the DayOne data center on July 20 at Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) in Batam city, Riau Islands. Batam has attracted at least 16 new data centers in various stages, despite limited utility infrastructure of clean water and electricity. (JP/Fadli)
D
ozens of residents in Nongsa district, Batam, Riau Islands blocked access to Nongsa Digital Park on Monday, protesting water shortages they say have left their neighborhoods without piped supplies for months while data center developments continue to expand.
The road blockade was the latest in a series of protests over the past two months, as residents in the district have grown increasingly frustrated with worsening access to clean water.
“Since construction of the data center began, we have been severely affected by water shortage. Our water supply has been completely cut off for three to six months,” protester Andi Lalang told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Police and military personnel were deployed around Nongsa Digital Park during the protest and directed vehicles seeking to enter the area to use alternative routes.
Protesters agreed to disperse after a BP Batam official promised to restore piped water supplies within two days and ordered six water tanker trucks to deliver water to affected neighborhoods as a temporary measure.
As of Wednesday, water supplies had been restored to around 53 percent of the affected areas, but the partial restoration had done little to ease residents’ frustration.
“If this issue is not resolved soon and the disruption happens again, we will stage further protests,” Nongsa resident Juliardi Adinda told the Post on Wednesday.
