Data center webinar focuses on water usage
CRG hosted a webinar to address Festus residents’ concerns about water use and potential rate increases tied to its proposed $6 billion hyperscale data center. Engineers said the facility’s closed-loop cooling system would limit routine water demand, while CRG would fund necessary water infrastructure improvements under its agreement with the city.
CRG, the St. Louis-based data center development arm of Clayco, told Festus residents that its proposed 361-acre hyperscale data center would not significantly burden the local water supply or increase existing customers’ water rates. During a developer-sponsored webinar, Burns & McDonnell engineer Jeff Barnard said the facility would use a closed-loop cooling system with limited ongoing water demand, with typical use estimated at 30,000 to 50,000 gallons per day and peak fire-flow needs of up to 300,000 gallons.
Barnard said the Jefferson County Water Authority’s treatment plant would not need immediate expansion and that new private wells would not be required. CRG President Chris McKee said the developer would pay for water-system improvements under its agreement with the city and that an in-person town hall required for the permitting process would be scheduled separately. The project remains controversial among residents, and no data center operator has yet been identified.