“Ceará authorises TikTok data centre to use seven times more water than planned in environmental licence”, 27 November 2025.

The “Secretaria de Recursos Hídricos do Ceará” (SRH, Ceará State Secretariat for Water Resources) has authorised Casa dos Ventos, TikTok’s partner in constructing a data centre in Caucaia, Ceará, to use a volume of water 7.3 times higher than originally declared in the project, granting the licence based on a declaration of water availability provided by the company itself.

The authorisation allowing the data centre… to consume a higher volume of water has raised concerns about the socio-environmental impact of the project, particularly given that Caucaia has declared a drought or dry spell emergency in 16 of the past 21 years…

The Intercept Brasil questioned SRH about the water availability statement that should have been submitted with the authorisation request. The Secretariat stated that, at the time of application, the “applicant declares that the water source indicated is capable of meeting the requested demand”. Since the project was deemed “low impact”, the responsibility lies with the developer…

The “Companhia de Gestão de Recursos Hídricos do Ceará” (Cogerh, Ceará Water Resources Management Company), through its press office, said it “fully adopted the principles of precaution and water security”, which require protection of the environment even when potential damage is uncertain. It added that the area in question “is located in a dune region, recognised for its good water availability and high rainfall”. Cogerh also stated that the “impact associated with the requested use was classified as low magnitude”. SRH reiterated the same position.

Casa dos Ventos emphasised that the volumes indicated in the licences “represent only the maximum flow permitted for the use of artesian wells, and not the projected consumption of the project, which remains as stated in the RAS [Simplified Environmental Report]”. The company also noted that two licences were requested “to ensure operational redundancy.”

The “Superintendência Estadual do Meio Ambiente do Ceará” (Semace, Ceará State Environmental Superintendency) stressed that “the licence does not commit the company to use the full volume; it is a regulatory quota that guarantees water security for the project, ensuring that the source can meet projected demand”. The agency added that Semace and Cogerh “may have understood that the higher licence merely represents a safety margin or operational capacity”

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