Ohio Chamber report says there's enough water for data centers. Used water is a different story
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce released a report asserting that central Ohio and the Cincinnati-Dayton region have sufficient water resources to support data center growth through 2030, but emphasized planning and infrastructure are critical. The report also highlights that energy generation for data centers, not cooling, is the primary source of water demand. This research is being used to advocate for restoring data center tax breaks, with recommended conditions for water conservation.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, through its Research Foundation, has released a report asserting that Ohio possesses adequate water resources to sustain data center expansion in central Ohio and the Cincinnati-Dayton region until 2030. Demetrius Thomas, executive director of the Ohio Chamber Research Foundation, stated the study was conducted in response to public concerns regarding water usage by hyperscale data centers, which are significant water consumers due to cooling methods. The report projects that by 2030, data centers will account for 8% of central Ohio's human water consumption and 0.25%-0.5% of its total available water, while in the Cincinnati-Dayton region, these figures will be 1% and less than 0.1% respectively.
The study concludes that Ohio's aggregate water capacity can meet data center demands in the near term, but emphasizes that effective planning, infrastructure development, watershed protection, and public communication are crucial to keep pace with growth. Notably, the report suggests that the largest source of water demand will come from energy generation needed to power data centers, rather than their cooling systems.
Following the report's release, the Ohio Chamber utilized its findings to advocate before the state's joint data center committee on June 11 for the reinstatement of data center tax breaks. They propose "modernized" tax exemptions with stricter conditions, including best-practice water conservation, annual water usage effectiveness reporting, and enhanced local control over site assessments. Separately, the Miami Conservancy District, a flood management agency, has called for robust monitoring of data center wastewater for contaminants and temperature, exclusion of ecologically sensitive rivers from permit coverage, and protection of aquifer recharge areas. The Ohio EPA had previously proposed a general permit for wastewater discharge from data centers, which the Conservancy District seeks to influence to ensure environmental protection, particularly for the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer.