More semiconductor capacity means more demand for dependable water supplies, but there is no reliable global “water per chip” figure. Fabs need large volumes of exceptionally clean water, and whether new factories intensify water pressure depends on where they are built, how local supplies are shared, and whether reuse systems are operating at scale.
Why chip factories need so much clean water
Semiconductor manufacturing uses water at several stages, especially to clean silicon wafers between process steps. The water must be ultrapure: even minute impurities can interfere with production and affect chip quality. Samsung’s semiconductor explainer describes wafer cleaning and the role of ultrapure water.
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This makes water more than a simple input measured at the factory gate. A fab needs a dependable supply, treatment capacity that can meet strict quality requirements, and systems to manage water after use. A local shortage, unreliable delivery, or conservation order can matter even when a company has invested in efficiency or recycling.
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How much water does it take to make a chip?
There is no single number that can fairly answer that question across the industry. The figure depends on what is being counted, which facility and process are included, and whether the measure is withdrawal, consumption, or water recycled.
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TSMC reported 161.0 liters of water consumption per 12-inch wafer equivalent product unit in 2024, an 8.7% decrease from 2023. That is the company’s reported intensity measure for a wafer-equivalent unit—not a per-chip figure. The measure and its scope are from TSMC’s 2024 Sustainability Report.
TSMC also reported that its recovery systems recycled 284.6 million cubic meters of water in 2024, with an additional 5.54 million cubic meters in water savings. These are company-reported totals for that year; they should not be read as a direct measure of the company’s net effect on local watersheds.
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Could new chip factories worsen water shortages?
They can add competition for water in places where supplies, infrastructure, or treatment capacity are already constrained. But the impact is local, not uniform: a fab’s demand has to be considered alongside the condition of its watershed, public and agricultural needs, other industry, ecosystems, and the reliability of alternative supplies.
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TSMC says drought, water shortages, and government conservation measures could interrupt operations or affect expansion plans. Its 2024 annual report describes exposure to potential shortages; it does not establish that every TSMC fab is currently short of water. The company also identifies conservation, alternative sources, monitoring, and stress testing as mitigations. See its 2024 Annual Report.
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For the United States, the USGS National Water Availability Assessment offers a framework for examining water quantity, quality, and use, with modeled supply-and-demand estimates for water years 2010–2020. It is useful context for local availability, not a forecast of semiconductor-fab demand. The assessment is described by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Can chipmakers recycle the water they use?
Yes. Companies can treat used water for reuse inside a facility, and reclaimed municipal wastewater can provide another source. But a recycling total does not, by itself, show how much pressure a fab puts on a particular watershed: the result also depends on the source water, what is discharged, treatment performance, and other local demands.
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Samsung’s December 2024 agreement describes a planned project to regenerate sewage water from Hwaseong and Osan and supply 120,000 tons of reclaimed water per day to its Giheung and Hwaseong semiconductor sites. Samsung scheduled the supply to begin in 2029, so this is a future plan, not a volume already being delivered. The announcement also sets out a water-withdrawal goal. Details and timing are in Samsung’s announcement.
Reclaimed water can diversify supply, but a planned project is not proof that water constraints have been solved. Its practical contribution depends on whether the infrastructure is completed, the supply is reliable, and the water can be treated to meet the fab’s requirements.
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How to judge a fab’s water impact
Comparisons are meaningful only when they use consistent definitions and local context. For a company, factory, or planned project, check:
- Location: Which watershed supplies the site, and what do local availability and competing demands look like?
- Water measure: Is the figure withdrawal, consumption, discharge, internal recycling, or reclaimed supply?
- Scope and period: Does it cover one facility or a company’s wider operations, and which reporting year does it describe?
- Reuse status: What share is reused internally or comes from reclaimed sources—and is the system operating, being built, or only planned?
- Evidence type: Is the number a measured result, a target, a forecast, or a risk scenario?
The available company disclosures do not provide a consistent dataset for ranking manufacturers or predicting fab-by-fab water demand worldwide. The central question is therefore not simply how much water a chip uses, but whether a particular facility can secure and reuse water without undermining the needs of the people and ecosystems that share its local supply.
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