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So when computer systems use water, it’s typically in a closed cooling loop. The water is heated by the computer components and then cooled in a radiator and returned to the computer components to absorb more heat.
Why do these articles always read like it’s consuming water in a way that eliminates it from existence?
As far as I’m aware they’re not taking water and turning it into something else like concrete, so what exactly is happening that it’s reducing our fresh water supply on Earth?

Data center water cooling isn’t a closed loop. They generally don’t use it like PC water cooling. There are exceptions, but servers are typically air cooled.

What they did is look for a less energy intensive way to cool the air than traditional air conditioning. So they turned to evaporative cooling, and also misting the incoming air. This reduced their energy use, but at the expense of water use.

It shows up in the inflow and outflow of water:

greenbiz.com/…/sip-or-guzzle-heres-how-googles-da…

Most of the overall amount of “operational” water that Google used in 2021 is related to these data centers; it withdrew 6.3 billion gallons during that fiscal year, according to its 2022 Environmental Report. Of that amount, 1.7 billion was discharged.

They’re evaporating away a lot more water than they return.

They’re evaporating away a lot more water than they return.

Ok, but the point is once water evaporates it doesn’t stay evaporated forever. Be condenses and turns into rain or snow.
Where exactly do people think this water is going when it evaporates? Space?

"why does a decline in freshwater supply matter when it all ends up in the sea anyway?"

Cute, but it doesn’t answer the question.

It does if you're not being willfully obtuse