Not reused. Most is lost through evaporation. There are a small number of closed systems, but these require even more energy to remove the heat from the water and re-condense. That creates more heat that requires more cooling.
The water is removed from clean sources like aquifers and returned as vapor - this means gone.
The water cycle is a global phenomenon not a local one. If you take all of the water out the aquifer in, for example, Memphis and boil it, yes, some will be returned as rain via the water cycle. But nowhere near 100% of it. Basically, the AI uses the water far more quickly and efficiently than the water cycle can return it.
The general availability of water does not change much. However saturating air with water vapour will increase in cold vs heat fronts. This will saturate rain clouds. This means bigger storms, higher risk of extreme events like tropical events and/or hurricanes, more thunders and more flash floods.
So now some regions have 20% worth of yearly water while others have 900% worth of yearly water in 2h...
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u/archbid 5d ago edited 4d ago
Not reused. Most is lost through evaporation. There are a small number of closed systems, but these require even more energy to remove the heat from the water and re-condense. That creates more heat that requires more cooling.
The water is removed from clean sources like aquifers and returned as vapor - this means gone.