Amount of water needed to operate Spartanburg Data Center more than double original estimate
NorthMark Compute and Cloud, the developer of the Valara Data Center in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, has announced its project will require more than double the originally estimated water usage. This update comes as the Spartanburg County Council is expected to vote on a countywide data center moratorium, and residents have previously voiced objections to the project.
NorthMark Compute and Cloud, the developer behind the $3 billion Valara Data Center project in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, has significantly increased its projected water usage. The company now estimates the facility will use an average of 1.2 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 1.6 million, more than double the initial estimate of 459,000 gallons.
The company stated that the previous lower figure was based on a Phase I wastewater survey and did not accurately reflect the demand of a fully built facility, and it is working to correct its public statements. Spartanburg Water has assured NorthMark that the utility can meet the increased demand without negatively impacting other customers, despite having requested voluntary water restrictions from residents due to drought conditions shortly after receiving NorthMark's updated figures. While those restrictions have since been lifted, Spartanburg County is still experiencing early stages of drought.
In related news, the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services recently approved a permit for the data center to operate 11 combustion turbines, an approval granted despite significant public opposition from hundreds of residents at a June 25 meeting. Concurrently, the Spartanburg County Council held a special meeting to discuss data center projects, with a final vote on a proposed countywide moratorium on new data center developments expected.