Meta's Data Center Sparks Water Crisis in Newton County, Georgia

Meta's Data Center Sparks Water Crisis in Newton County

In 2018, Meta (formerly Facebook) broke ground on a $750 million data center in Newton County, Georgia. Since then, the facility has been linked to severe water-related issues affecting local residents and the county's water supply 1

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Impact on Local Residents

Source: ET

Beverly and Jeff Morris, whose home is located just 1,000 feet from Meta's data center, have experienced significant water problems since construction began. Their well water supply has been compromised, leading to:

• Dry taps in bathrooms and kitchen
• Buildup of sediment in their water
• Malfunctioning appliances, including dishwashers and washing machines
• Residue accumulating in their backyard pool

The couple has spent $5,000 on water-related issues and cannot afford the $25,000 needed to replace their well 1

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County-Wide Water Concerns

Newton County, home to about 120,000 people, is facing broader water-related challenges:

• Potential water deficit by 2030, according to a recent report
• Water rates set to increase by 33% in the next two years
• Local wells damaged and municipal water costs soaring
• Meta's data center consuming about 10% of the county's total daily water usage

Blair Northen, mayor of Mansfield (a town in Newton County), described the situation as "absolutely terrible" 2

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Data Centers and Water Consumption

Source: Futurism

In the era of artificial intelligence, water has become crucial for data centers:

• Meta's facility typically uses around 500,000 gallons of water daily
• Newer AI-focused data centers may require millions of gallons per day
• Some data center companies have requested up to 6 million gallons of water daily in Newton County

Chris Manganiello of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper discovered that one data center company in Georgia demanded nine million gallons of water per day, equivalent to the usage of 30,000 households 1

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Environmental and Economic Implications

The situation in Newton County highlights several issues:

• Tech companies often prioritize locations with cheap energy over water availability
• Water management is more challenging than energy management for municipalities
• Data centers can exacerbate water shortages in drought-stricken areas
• Similar water troubles are occurring in other data center hot spots, including Texas, Arizona, and the UAE

Newsha Ajami, a hydrologist and director of urban water policy at Stanford, noted that for tech companies, "water is an afterthought" 2

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Response and Future Outlook

Meta has denied responsibility for the Morrises' water issues, stating that a commissioned well study found it "unlikely" that their data center affected the local groundwater supply 1

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Newton County is racing against time to upgrade its water recycling facilities, a project estimated to cost over $250 million. Mike Hopkins, executive director of the Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, "We just don't have the water" 1

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As the AI industry continues to grow, the water consumption of data centers remains a critical issue that demands attention from both tech companies and policymakers.