AWS data center to tap local aquifer for water

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is developing a large 17-building data center campus, dubbed "Project Green," on the eastern outskirts of New Florence, Missouri, near I-70. This facility is projected to annually consume 50 million gallons of water, which will be sourced from the Cambrian Ordovician aquifer. This underground reservoir is over 1,500 feet deep and spans a vast region of Missouri.

Scott Kaden, groundwater section chief at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), stated that water usage at this scale is not uncommon, comparing it to public water supplies or irrigation. Amazon has indicated that the wells will be drilled deep enough to prevent interference with local private wells. While Missouri operates as a riparian state without explicit regulations limiting water landowners can draw, Kaden emphasized that individuals cannot impact a neighbor's ability to access water, which would then become a civil issue.

Despite some monitoring data showing slight declines in an older New Florence well dating back to 1981, Kaden advised against drawing conclusions from single data points. He noted that the aquifer's immense thickness, with over 1,000 feet of water remaining, presents a broader, more reassuring picture. Engineering firm CDM Smith, using DNR projections up to 2060, estimates the aquifer's natural refill rate at 406 million gallons per day, significantly outweighing the region's total daily withdrawals of 71 million gallons from all other wells combined.