Stafford supervisors vote to condemn land for data center reuse water pipe
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted 4-2-1 to use eminent domain to acquire nine parcels needed for a county-owned reuse water pipeline serving data center cooling systems. Several property owners, including the Somerset Landing homeowners association, opposed the pipeline route, while county officials said the system will provide public infrastructure for industrial cooling.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved condemnation proceedings for nine parcels needed to build a treated reuse-water pipeline, commonly called a purple pipe. The system is being developed primarily to supply cooling water to data centers without using potable drinking water and will be owned by the county.
Ten property owners have reached agreements with the developers, but nine landowners, including homeowners associations and individuals, have not. Somerset Landing residents urged supervisors to reject the route through association-owned woods, but County Administrator Bill Ashton said eminent domain was authorized because the pipeline will serve as public infrastructure and could later be used by other industrial businesses.