The neighbors of a data center in Georgia are steaming after they discovered the facility had sucked up nearly 30 million gallons of water — without initially paying for it.
Outrage started bubbling up last year when residents of an affluent subdivision named Annelise Park in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed their water pressure was unusually low.
When the county utility investigated, officials discovered two industrial-scale water hookups feeding a data center campus located 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta. One water connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and the other was not linked to the company’s account and therefore wasn’t being billed.
All told, the developer, Quality Technology Services, owed nearly $150,000 for using more than 29 million gallons of unaccounted-for water.
Vanessa Tigert, the Fayette County water system director, said it was likely about four months. A QTS spokesperson said the timeframe was 9-15 months.
I’m sure the data center will claim it was an oversight.
But a water connection installed without the utility’s knowledge? Who ordered that?
My cynicism is reflected in the post title. Though I suppose it should be attempted theft of 30 million gallons of water.
What was the fine imposed? Zero
officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 million-square-foot facility over unauthorized water use
County’s soft touch is attributed to the data center being ‘our largest customer, and we have to be partners.’
In our state of New Mexico, the data center lobbied the governor. It was sold as a jobs deal. I couldn’t find any campaign contributions from BorderPlex Digital Assets. But a straw third party contributor might have been used. Or simply a briefcase of cash.
( The company said its water consumption was so high last year because of temporary construction-related activities, such as concrete work, dust control and site preparation.
Once operational, the company said the data centers only will use water for domestic needs, such as bathrooms and kitchens. That will total the equivalent of what four U.S. households use per month, the spokesperson said.
Where are the whizkids of old, the folks that didn’t waste water, but developed recycling means like cooling towers, reused the same water rather than just flushing it away? Or maybe pump it back down into underground aquifers to be pulled up later?? Some shortsighted greediness at their core it seems to this guy…
Well, we certainly know where you stand. But I’m confused, did the company actually use 30 million gallons of water that was unaccounted for by the water company? Did they pay for it? What did the MSM get wrong? Somebody used the water or was it a bad meter? And they aren’t going to use any water for cooling? I’m confused.
"Lie by Omission Definition: Intentionally leaving out crucial information to skew the truth.
Action: Concealing information; letting someone believe a false narrative without directly saying it.".
The Politco article clarifies the excessive water use for cement n construction, and includes the “only use water equal to 4 households, once the dc is operational” comment.
I’m not a fan of any kind of logical error n fallacy.
Yes. MSM should be called out when they do that.
I definitely stand on that side.
I don’t know, this whole conversation seems absurd. They’re spending $100M+ building a data center, I strongly doubt that they willfully stole water worth a mere $150,000 just to save the money. Much more likely the water utility didn’t respond quick enough once the connection was made, or someone simply screwed up the paperwork. It smacks of the media creating a big story out of nothing to support their larger story of anti-data center feelings.
“Outrage started bubbling up last year when residents of an affluent subdivision named Annelise Park in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed their water pressure was unusually low.”
It smacks of the MSM covering the gripes of affluent weiners who don’t like being told by their government to curb their water use.
