AWS Signs Recycled Water Deal with Greater Western Water for Melbourne Data Center
June 19, 2026
AWS Signs Recycled Water Deal with Greater Western Water for Melbourne Data Center
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has entered into a recycled water supply agreement with Greater Western Water (GWW) for its planned data center in western Melbourne, Australia, marking a first-of-its-kind partnership in the state of Victoria. The deal comes shortly after the release of the Victorian Government’s Industry Water Connection Guide, which aims to help large industrial water users collaborate directly with water corporations to bolster water security.
Under the agreement, GWW will supply recycled water to the AWS data center from the Melton Recycled Water Plant (RWP) in Mt Cottrell, Melbourne. While AWS has not officially confirmed the exact location, the facility is widely expected to be situated at 54-80 Ferris Road in Cobblebank, approximately 40 kilometers west of Melbourne’s center. Plans for the site first emerged in 2024, with the data center expected to occupy a 13.2-hectare area and cost an estimated $50 million. Capacity and construction timeline details have not been disclosed.
GWW managing director Cameron FitzGerald highlighted the significance of the arrangement, stating that the Melton Recycled Water Plant is expected to be the first in Victoria to supply a data center with recycled water. “We know data centers and large industrial users of water are increasingly looking for innovative ways to reduce their environmental footprint, and we’re keen to see more of them follow AWS’ lead in working with us to get connected to recycled water,” he said.
AWS head of Infrastructure and Energy Policy for Australia and New Zealand, Matt O’Rourke, emphasized that connecting a data center to recycled water from day one of operations represents a major milestone for both Victoria and AWS in Australia. “Working closely with Greater Western Water to deliver recycled water to our new data center in Western Melbourne will help preserve millions of liters of drinking water annually for local communities,” O’Rourke said. He added that the investment in infrastructure to link the facility to the Melton Recycled Water Plant underscores AWS’s commitment to water stewardship in Australia and its global goal to return more water than it uses in the communities where it operates.
AWS first entered the Australian market in 2012 with a cloud region in Sydney, followed by a second region in Melbourne launched in 2023. That same year, the company also launched an AWS Local Zone in Perth. In July 2024, AWS announced it was building a data center for the Australian government to handle top-secret data, developed in partnership with the government, which committed AU$2 billion (US$1.3 billion) to the system over the next decade.
Globally, Amazon currently operates 26 facilities using 100 percent reclaimed water, with more than 130 additional sites contracted for similar water reuse. The company has set a goal to achieve water positivity by 2030 and recently reported it is 75 percent of the way toward that target. AWS also disclosed that its data center portfolio consumed 2.5 billion gallons of water last year, marking a 2 percent decrease from the previous year.
Source: datacenterdynamics
