Schools Shut Down After Data Center Wastes 3 Million Gallons Of Water

A massive water line leak in El Reno, Oklahoma, has cost local residents more than 3 million gallons of water and forced public schools to shut down for two days. City officials traced the devastating water loss to a privately owned fire hydrant at a local data center operated by Athlon BT, a tech firm that manages facilities for artificial intelligence networking, cloud computing, and Bitcoin mining. While repairing the water line and investigating the source of the massive leak, city officials uncovered multiple code violations at the tech facility. According to local reporting, investigators found severe drainage issues and expired building permits on the property.