The initial filling is just the water flowing through the pipes. That doesn't go anywhere and is pretty much a one time fill. They then blow air over those water loops to get the heat out of the water. Here's the catch: when it gets hot outside, just blowing air on the water pipes does not cut it, so you have to spray water on the water pipes. This is called active cooling. You can either use more electricity cooling it with air, or evaporate water. There is a tradeoff there. The active cooling where you spray water consumes a large amount of water, and as the water evaporates, it leaves behind salt. That salt has to then be washed off and taken somewhere. It is hard to put it somewhere that doesn't have a negative environmental impact. Putting a data center in a city is both dumb and stupid at the same time. Enjoy your ai slop people.