25 August 2026updated 30 August

Marketing stunt revives real wastewater cooling debate for data centers

• A Liquid Death energy drink and former NFL player Jason Kelce created a marketing campaign about using treated urine to cool AI computer servers.
• The stunt prompted actual discussion of wastewater as a legitimate cooling solution for data centers, which require massive amounts of water.
• Loudind County, Virginia already operates over 250 data centers that consume 200 million gallons of treated sewage water daily for cooling.

How it was covered

MindstreamAdam Biddlecombe

A Liquid Death and Jason Kelce marketing stunt about using treated urine to cool AI systems sparked actual discussion about wastewater as viable coolant. Loudoun County's 250+ data centers are already using 200 million gallons of treated sewage daily.