{
  "id": 14119883,
  "title": "'Not a single drop': AI data centre boom sparks water protests on Indonesian island",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/not-a-single-drop-ai-data-centre-boom-sparks-water-protests-on",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-13T04:12:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/not-a-single-drop-ai-data-centre-boom-sparks-water-protests-on-indonesian-island/articleshow/134907560.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Indonesia's Batam island, 300 residents marched on a data centre complex armed with empty bottles and containers, demanding access to water. The protest in front of Nongsa Digital Park accused the data centres of monopolizing water resources while locals faced a three-month water shortage. Authorities blamed the crisis on a prolonged dry spell, denying claims that water meant for households was being redirected to data centres. Residents like Dewi Susanti of Bakau Serip village described the water supply from tanker trucks as dirty and expensive, disrupting their daily lives. Batam's water utility pledged to improve supplies but declined to comment on the potential impact of data centres. Meanwhile, the island's BP Batam agency and trade ministry blamed the shortages on a prolonged dry spell and denied any diversion of household water supplies. The crisis has spotlighted Batam's rapid expansion as a data centre hub, with more than $6.7 billion invested in the sector as of mid-2026. Authorities have approved 10 data centres, six in Nongsa Digital Park, and six more projects are under review.",
  "summary": "Around 300 residents of Batam island protested against water shortages that disrupted their daily lives. They accused data centres of depleting local freshwater resources amidst the ongoing water crisis. The local water utility has promised improvements, but concerns continue to grow regarding water access. Authorities have instructed data centre companies to establish their own desalination…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}