4 Million or 50,000 Gallons; Insights on Data Center Water Usage
The article details the significant water usage by data centers and the regulatory efforts by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission within its multi-state basin, which includes eastern Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania lawmakers have mandated statewide reporting of data center water and electricity usage to the Department of Environmental Protection to guide future management efforts.
Data centers in Pennsylvania exhibit a wide range of water consumption, from millions of gallons daily for traditional cooling to significantly less with newer, more efficient technologies. Drew Dehoff, executive director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), underscored the commission's role in integrating water considerations into the permitting process for withdrawals exceeding 100,000 gallons per day within the basin, which spans parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The SRBC can deny permits based on water availability, and it encourages conservation through expedited permit reviews and reduced fees.
While the SRBC's authority is confined to its basin, leaving western Pennsylvania largely unregulated in this regard, state lawmakers in Harrisburg have introduced a new statewide measure. This mandate, included in the state budget, requires all data center projects to submit their annual water and electricity usage and methods to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Dehoff explained that this reporting initiative aims to provide crucial data to inform future management efforts and assess whether developers are adopting water-conserving technologies. Despite Pennsylvania being an attractive state for data center development due to its resources and climate, there is currently no statewide authority to prevent projects from utilizing high-water-consumption cooling methods, placing a shared responsibility on developers and regulators to prioritize sustainable choices.