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The Data Center Boom Is Coming For Small-Town Water
Data center developments are facing increasing scrutiny over water consumption and related environmental impacts in small towns across the U.S. Incidents in El Reno, Oklahoma, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Morgan County, Georgia, highlight issues ranging from water leaks and bacterial contamination to muddy well water. These events are prompting legal disputes and calls for accountability from local and federal government entities.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers across the U.S. is sparking concerns over local water resources, as highlighted by multiple incidents in small communities.
In El Reno, Oklahoma, a Bitcoin mining facility owned by Athlon Blockchain Technology was linked to a leak that wasted over three million gallons of water, leading to school and business closures. The city discovered the site was operating without proper permits and had multiple fire and life-safety code violations, resulting in a Stop Work Order in 2023 and an upcoming hearing. Chris Johnson, president of the American Energy Leadership Institute, emphasized the need for accountability but cautioned against overreaction, noting the leak's small proportion of statewide water usage.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, saw a dispute involving Meta's data center, where a metal-consuming bacterium, Cupriavidus gilardii, was reportedly found in wastewater during construction. The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) fined Goat Systems, the LLC owning Meta's campus, $10,000 and banned data centers from dumping startup cooling water into the sewer. Meta disputed the enforcement action, citing internal tests by its contractor Fortis Construction that found no bacteria and questioning BOPU's testing validity. BOPU declined further comment due to ongoing litigation.
In Morgan County, Georgia, residents near a Meta data center and a Rivian EV plant reported muddy well water following heavy site work in 2022. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) brought a jar of the brown water to a House hearing to question EPA Assistant Administrator Jessica Kramer. Meta maintains that groundwater flows away from the affected properties and that all construction and operational water came from local utilities, vowing to defend against what it calls "baseless lawsuits."
These incidents underscore the challenges faced by aging water infrastructure in communities hosting large industrial-scale demands. Shaolei Ren, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, emphasized the need for continued investment in water systems. However, some tech companies are also contributing to solutions; for example, Meta invested $100 million in water infrastructure in Kuna, Idaho, and Microsoft collaborated with Quincy, Washington, to build a dedicated water treatment plant.