Well permits disclose how Project Blue will get its water
Concerns about the "Project Blue" data center's water and electricity use led the Tucson City Council to refuse annexation and water provision. Beale Infrastructure, the developer, is using independent wells for water and claims an air-cooled design will minimize consumption, primarily for domestic and fire suppression use. Permit documents show a limit of 96.5 acre-feet per year (31.4 million gallons), though the company estimates much lower daily usage.
Concerns surrounding the "Project Blue" data center in Tucson, Arizona, have focused on its potential electricity and water consumption. KGUN9 obtained water well permits for the site, revealing the developer's plans for water access and usage.
Beale Infrastructure, the company behind Project Blue, is preparing to drill two independent wells on the site. This decision followed the Tucson City Council's refusal to annex the site and provide municipal water, a response to protests over the data center's anticipated water demands for cooling. In light of this, Beale Infrastructure committed to an air-cooled design, stating that water use would be limited to domestic purposes like bathrooms and fire protection, similar to any other commercial building.
Permit documents from the Arizona Department of Water Resources specify the well water is for drinking and fire suppression, capping annual usage at 96.5 acre-feet, equivalent to 31.4 million gallons. However, Dr. Sharon Megdal of U of A's Water Resources Research Center views this as a significant amount and an unusual situation, suggesting integration with a larger water system would have been preferable for regional planning. Beale Infrastructure estimates actual daily usage will be much lower, between 15,000 to 20,000 gallons, primarily for an initial closed-loop cooling system fill-up and subsequent domestic use.