Wyoming data center contamination highlights Ashville, Ohio, water concerns

A Meta data center under construction in Cheyenne, Wyoming, recently contaminated the city's wastewater system with Cupriavidus gilardii, a rare drug-resistant bacterium, via a standard "fill-and-flush" cooling system operation. The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities has since banned such discharges. This incident has raised alarm in Ashville, Ohio, where residents fear a similar contamination to the Teays Valley Aquifer, their sole source of drinking water, particularly from a proposed EdgeConneX data center which also plans to use a 50,000-gallon fill-and-flush process.

Further concerns stem from a proposed Ohio EPA permit, introduced in October 2025 by Director John Logue, which would uniquely allow Ohio data centers to discharge untreated wastewater directly into rivers and streams. This permit has drawn significant opposition from thousands of Ohioans and environmental law organizations, who testified at a public hearing in Columbus in December 2025. Critics highlight the permit's lack of mention of PFAS chemicals, absence of water quality baselines, and no size limits for hyperscale data centers. As of now, the Ohio EPA has not made a final decision on the permit, leaving the regulatory framework for data center water discharges unresolved while new facilities continue to be built.

Residents of Pickaway County, including State Representative Brian Stewart, are urged to attend an Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) public hearing on August 19, 2026, at Teays Valley High School in Ashville. This hearing is a critical opportunity for the community to voice their opposition to the proposed power plant associated with the data center and express concerns about water protection. They are encouraged to send letters of opposition to the OPSB, referencing the case number, to influence the decision-makers on the water quality issues at stake for the region.