The Hidden Cost of Data: Why We Should Think Twice About What We Keep

This summer, parts of the UK have endured their fourth heatwave, millions are under hosepipe bans, and the National Drought Group has declared the current water shortage a “nationally significant incident.” Amid the advice on conserving water, one surprising suggestion stood out: delete old emails and photos. 

At first, it sounds strange. How could tidying your inbox save water? But the link is real. Data centres, which power our digital lives, use vast amounts of water to keep servers cool. Thames Water reports that a large data centre might use between 4 and 19 million litres of water per day enough to supply more than 50,000 households. 

And cooling is just part of the story. The Environment Agency notes that water for cooling is only around 25% of the total water consumed by UK data centres. The rest is tied to the electricity needed to store and process all that data in the first place. 

So, if deleting 1,000 old emails with attachments can save around 77.5 litres of water a year, should we just hit delete on everything? Not quite. The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology points out that small files like emails and photos have only a limited impact. The bigger challenge is the relentless growth of data worldwide, and the global race to build more data centres to house it. 

The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2022, data centres, cryptocurrency mining, and artificial intelligence used almost 2% of the world’s electricity, about the same as Japan. By 2026, that demand could double, with water use climbing alongside it. 

This is where awareness matters. Deleting a few photos won’t solve the water crisis, but being more thoughtful about what we store can make a difference in two important ways: 

1. Slowing data growth – reducing unnecessary storage helps ease demand on global infrastructure. 

1. Protecting what matters – intentional archiving ensures that vital information isn’t lost in a sea of digital clutter. 

At Arkivum, we believe in purposeful archiving and preservation. Not everything needs to be kept forever, but the data that does should be stored securely, accessibly, and sustainably. Many of our clients already take a risk-based approach to managing data something we echoed in this year’s ArkFest conference. It’s about finding the balance: minimising the cost and footprint of storage, while protecting the records that are essential for compliance, research, and long-term value. 

The takeaway? Don’t just ask, “Can I store this?”
Ask instead, “Will this be needed in the future?”