Effingham County Addresses Water Concerns for OpenAI Data Center
Effingham County, Georgia, is reassuring residents about the water plans for OpenAI's data center, Project Camellia, through a social media campaign. However, the Savannah Riverkeeper has raised environmental concerns regarding water sourcing, closed-loop drainage, power generation water, and stormwater runoff. OpenAI claims the facility will use a closed-loop system drawing from surface water and will properly dispose of waste, while adhering to local and state guidelines.
Effingham County, Georgia, is actively campaigning to reassure residents about the water usage plans for OpenAI's upcoming data center, dubbed "Project Camellia." The county's social media initiative, "Project Camellia: Water Done Right," emphasizes the project's engineering design for protecting regional water resources. An agreement between the county and OpenAI dictates that the data center will source water exclusively from treated surface rivers, avoiding groundwater, and will employ a closed-loop cooling system to minimize consumption through continuous recycling.
Despite these assurances, the Savannah Riverkeeper, a local environmental advocacy group, has voiced significant concerns. Steven Uhles, Communications Director for the Savannah Riverkeeper, outlined three primary issues: potential impacts from periodic drainage of closed-loop systems containing chemical additives, the substantial water demands of new power generation sources required to operate the data center, and the environmental effects of stormwater drainage and runoff. OpenAI maintains that any contaminated fluids from cooling systems will be lawfully disposed of off-site and not discharged locally, and that all stormwater management will adhere strictly to state and local guidelines. They deferred comments on power generation water use to their utility provider.