Forget a hosepipe ban – UK government suggests we help combat drought by deleting old emails and pictures

• England’s drought was declared nationally significant after the driest six months since records began in 1976
• The UK government urges the public to delete old files as part of a nationwide water conservation strategy
• Hosepipe bans remain in place while reservoirs across England drop to alarmingly low seasonal levels

The UK government has proposed an unconventional way to contribute to water conservation during the country’s ongoing drought – deleting old emails and pictures.

ThE suggestion came from the National Drought Group, which includes government agencies, water companies, and environmental experts.

The ongoing drought in England has been declared a “national incident” following the driest six months since 1976.

Six months of extreme dryness prompt government-level alert

The reasoning behind the advice is linked to the operation of data centers, which support services such as email hosting, cloud storage, and email services.

These facilities use large volumes of water to cool servers and maintain optimal performance, so by reducing the amount of stored data, the argument goes, demand on data center capacity could be lowered, potentially cutting water consumption.

However, the real-world effect of such personal digital cleanups is uncertain.

While data centers do consume large amounts of water, particularly in high-density computing operations, experts have not presented clear evidence showing that deleting small amounts of personal data measurably reduces their cooling needs.

Critics suggest that structural changes, like reducing leaks and improving water infrastructure, would have a more immediate and tangible impact.

The drought has already prompted hosepipe bans in parts of Yorkshire, the South East, and other affected regions.

Reservoirs have dropped to 67.7% capacity on average across England, far below the early August norm of over 80%.

Some are now below 50%, with river flows at historically low levels in certain areas.

Prolonged dry conditions and multiple heatwaves have worsened the situation, affecting agriculture, wildlife, and public water supply.

Water companies have intensified leak repairs, with some fixing over 800 each week, and smart meters are being used to identify problem areas.

Public awareness campaigns have encouraged traditional water-saving actions such as taking shorter showers, fixing leaking toilets, and collecting rainwater for garden use.

The inclusion of a digital storage cleanup in official conservation messaging reflects a broader recognition that water consumption is linked not only to domestic and industrial activities, but also to the infrastructure supporting online life.

The growing demand for cloud storage and generative AI has added to the load on data centers, and environmental reports have shown measurable water use from AI processing tasks.

Whether deleting old files will have an impact on water supplies remains open to question.

However, England is in dire need of a solution for the drought, and small, everyday actions, whether at home or online, are part of the collective effort to protect the country’s strained water resources.

“Simple, everyday choices, such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails, also help the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife,” said Helen Wakeham, Director of Water at the Environment Agency.

You might also like

• Here are the best mobile workstations around today
• Take a look at some of the best external hard drives
• Tackling Shadow AI: how UK businesses can mitigate the risks