Questions about water use at data centers are some of the hardest to answer. Part of the challenge is that water itself is difficult to track. It moves across property boundaries, cycles through natural and engineered systems, and carries pollutants that can be nearly impossible to trace back to their source once they enter a river, lake, or watershed.
Data center cooling systems add another layer of complication. Some rely on proprietary technologies, and information about how much water they use, where it comes from, and what happens to it afterward isn’t always publicly available.
Last month, we hosted a webinar with Amy Adams of the Southeast Climate and Energy Network, who spent many years working on water quality issues at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. She’s now applying that expertise to understanding water use at data centers and helping communities ask better questions about the potential impacts.
You can watch the webinar replay here.
Amy shared a wealth of information, but perhaps the most valuable takeaway was a list of questions communities can bring to developers, local officials, and utilities before a project is approved.
We’ve turned those questions into a working document covering water sources, peak demand and drought conditions, cooling technologies, wastewater and PFAS, electricity’s water footprint, and more.
This is a living resource, and we invite you to help improve it. Please check it out, add questions, and contribute what you’re learning in your own community.
Here’s the link to the water working doc.
We’ve also got some important developments to share this week, so read on for more.
In this newsletter
This bi-weekly newsletter is a new project from Halt the Harm Network. For more regular updates and meetups on data center organizing, request access to the Stop Bad Data Centers group inside the HHN community space.
What We’re Following
A Bipartisan Permitting Bill That’s Really a Gift to Data Centers
A new Senate bill, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, is being sold as a clean energy win. A closer look shows that it’s really a massive handout to the AI data center industry.
The bill would weaken the environmental and community protections that allow people to challenge fossil fuel infrastructure, including the pipelines and gas plants being built to power data centers. Oil Change International breaks down how the legislation would lock in a 40%+ increase in gas consumption in the U.S. power sector, while stripping states of their ability to protect water, land, and communities from pipeline expansion.
A Stanford Law analysis goes further, calling the bill a “meat axe” to bedrock environmental law that will gut NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act in one stroke.
If your organization wants to go on record opposing the bill, add your name here.
Read the Oil Change analysis. | Read the Stanford Law breakdown.
The AI Gas Rush: Risks and Implications of “Bring Your Own Power”
A new report is out from Earthjustice and the Better Data Center Project on the unprecedented rush to fuel data center demand for power. Much of this electricity will come from “bring your own power” systems that are designed to take advantage of loopholes in environmental regulations, skirting air quality standards and putting the health of surrounding communities at risk.
Pennsylvania’s “Deemed Approval” Loophole Is Being Challenged in Court
When a township in Pennsylvania didn’t hold a hearing on a proposed data center within 60 days, the developer declared the project automatically approved—even without community input. That’s the “Deemed Approval” provision of Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code which Green Amendments For The Generations is now challenging as unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, filed September 25 in Commonwealth Court, argues that rubber-stamping a data center without any public process violates Pennsylvanians’ environmental rights, property rights, and due process protections under both the state and U.S. constitutions.
September Data Center Snapshot from FracTracker
The new FracTracker Snapshot is up. This month’s highlights demonstrate the growing demand for dedicated power infrastructure, and the conversion of former coal plants and cryptocurrency-mining facilities into AI data centers. Five new projects have been added to the tracker, in Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, Louisiana, and Alabama.
Special thanks to Mia Glover for putting this together!
Event Recap
How Data Centers Use Water: Cooling, Consumption, Wastewater & What Communities Need to Know
What does it mean when a developer says a facility will use a “closed-loop” cooling system? Why do some cooling systems consume so much water? Where does the wastewater go, what might be in it and can local treatment systems handle it?
In this webinar, guest speaker Amy Adams of the Southeast Climate and Energy Network walked us through all the technicalities that communities need to know to evaluate a proposed project.
Closing Comment
The more communities share what they’re seeing, the more patterns emerge, and the more prepared we all are to push back.
If you have a question, a story to share, or just want to get more connected, reply to this email. We read every message and we’ll do our best to point you toward the right resources, people, or organizations.
You can also join the Halt the Harm Network to connect with others fighting similar fights, access our growing resource library, and stay in the loop on upcoming events.
