CONTACT: Dana Kuhnline, 513 601 9854, [email protected]
APPALACHIA – Today, ReImagine Appalachia hosted a virtual session examining the deeper impacts data centers have on water supplies, municipal water systems, and surrounding communities.
“In Appalachia, we’re seeing an overwhelming upsurge in data center proposals; there is a real need for more information about how these enormous facilities work and the types of policies we need to make informed decisions on the potential impacts to our water systems,” said Dana Kuhnline, Programs Director at ReImagine Appalachia.
At this event, Amy Adams, Deputy Director at the Southeast Climate and Energy Network, discussed different types of data center cooling systems. She gave special attention to “closed loop” systems, which circulate a given supply of water through the cooling systems of a facility, gradually discharging the water through evaporation. She cautioned that with this system, the circulated water can become increasingly laden with the minerals and treatment chemicals onsite. Without proper disposal planning, this heavily affected water can overwhelm local sewer and water treatment facilities. Adams pressed attendees to insist incoming data center projects detail their plans for acquiring and offloading water, and hold them to ironclad conditions .
You can watch the full recorded virtual session “Thirst for Knowledge” here.
On the call, the speakers underscored the importance of having legally enforceable plans in place:
“A promise from a data center developer is not the same as an enforceable condition,” Amy Adams said. “The statement “I’ll be a good neighbor” does not tell a wastewater operator or a water treatment plant operator who they should shut off on August 4th when it’s the third week of drought and you have two competing demands from a town full of people and a data center.”
About ReImagine Appalachia
ReImagine Appalachia is a coalition working to ensure Appalachia is a leader in the clean energy economy and that the new economy creates good