Fayette County, Georgia – July 9, 2025 – The rapid expansion of data centres across small-town America is fueling concerns among local residents about water quality, environmental impact, and community disruption. In Fayette County, Georgia, retiree Beverly Morris faces ongoing challenges with her home’s water supply, which she attributes to the nearby data centre operated by Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
Meta Data Centre Blamed for Water Problems by Local Resident
When Beverly Morris retired in 2016, she purchased a quiet rural home nestled among the trees of Fayette County, hoping for a peaceful retirement. However, just 400 yards from her front porch, a large, windowless data centre now occupies the landscape. Housing rows of servers humming with activity, this facility is part of a growing network of data centres that support crucial online services from banking transactions to artificial intelligence (AI) platforms like ChatGPT.
Ms. Morris claims that construction and operation of the data centre disrupted her private well, leading to an excessive buildup of sediment that has compromised her water quality. “I can’t live in my home with half of my home functioning and no water,” she told reporters. She now relies on hauling water in buckets just to flush her toilet and has undertaken plumbing repairs to restore water pressure in her kitchen. Despite these efforts, water coming from her tap still contains residual particles, prompting her to express fears over safety. “I’m afraid to drink the water, but I still cook with it, and brush my teeth with it,” she said.
Meta disputes any connection between the data centre’s operation and Ms. Morris’s water issues. In a statement to the BBC, the company affirmed that “being a good neighbour is a priority” and commissioned an independent groundwater study, which concluded that its data centre did “not adversely affect groundwater conditions in the area.”
The Invisible Cloud’s Real-World Footprint
While the concept of “the cloud” often conjures images of intangible data floating in cyberspace, its infrastructure is deeply physical. Globally, over 10,000 data centres power digital activity, with the United States hosting the majority, followed by the UK and Germany. The AI-driven surge in online traffic has accelerated the development of such centres, particularly in rapidly growing hubs like Georgia.
However, this growth is not without controversy. A 2024 report from advocacy group Data Center Watch highlights that more than $64 billion worth of data centre projects have been delayed or blocked nationwide due to local opposition. Residents frequently cite concerns about noise, traffic, environmental degradation, and specifically, water usage.
Cooling the high-powered processors in these centres requires vast quantities of water. Mark Mills, senior fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics, testified before the US Congress in April that “the surface of each chip is hotter than the surface of the sun,” necessitating extensive cooling through evaporative systems. On extreme heat days, a single data centre can consume millions of gallons of water to prevent overheating. Industry estimates forecast that AI-driven data centres could demand as much as 1.7 trillion gallons of water worldwide by 2027.
Georgia’s Data Centre Surge Tests Local Water Resources
Few locations highlight this tension better than Georgia a top US market for data centre development. The state’s humid climate offers a natural advantage, providing a cost-effective water source for cooling equipment. Nonetheless, some locals question the environmental trade-offs.
Gordon Rogers, executive director of Flint Riverkeeper, an environmental advocacy group focused on Georgia’s waterways, took BBC reporters to a creek located downhill from a construction site managed by Quality Technology Services (QTS), a US data centre operator. Local volunteer George Diets collected a water sample that appeared cloudy and discoloured. “It shouldn’t be that colour,” Diets observed, suggesting sediment runoff and possible presence of flocculants chemicals used during construction to prevent erosion, which if not properly managed, can contaminate water bodies.
QTS maintains that all its facilities adhere to stringent environmental standards and contribute significantly through local tax revenues. Nonetheless, Rogers emphasized that it’s local residents who suffer the most from construction-related impacts. “A larger, wealthier property owner does not have more property rights than a smaller, less wealthy property owner,” he argued, underscoring ongoing community tensions.
Industry’s Response: Towards Sustainable Water Usage
Tech companies acknowledge water concerns and are initiating measures to mitigate their environmental footprint. Will Hewes, global water stewardship lead at Amazon Web Services (AWS) the largest data centre operator globally outlined the firm’s approach to sustainable water management.
“Our goal is that by 2030, we’ll be putting more water back into the watersheds and communities where we’re operating data centres than we’re taking out,” Hewes stated. AWS is investing in infrastructure improvements such as leak detection and repair, rainwater harvesting systems, and the use of treated wastewater for cooling. In Virginia, Amazon is collaborating with farmers to reduce nutrient runoff into Chesapeake Bay, thereby enhancing regional water quality.
Despite these efforts, Hewes explained that water cooling systems are employed only about 10% of the hottest days annually in the Americas. “On those days, the demand is intense,” he said, emphasizing the ongoing challenge.
Quantifying the environmental load, a single AI query such as a prompt submitted to ChatGPT consumes approximately the same amount of water as a small bottled water purchased at retail. Given billions of daily queries worldwide, the cumulative water use is substantial.
Experts Call for Long-Term Solutions to Balance Tech Growth and Environmental Stewardship
Rajiv Garg, professor of cloud computing at Emory University, emphasized the inevitability of data centre expansion. “There’s no turning back,” he said. “These facilities are becoming the backbone of modern life.” But he cautioned that uncoordinated growth risks placing “a huge strain” on local resources.
Garg advocates for smarter cooling technologies, increased rainwater harvesting, and efficiency improvements to reduce the burden on municipal and natural water systems. The tech industry, he noted, is gradually pivoting toward sustainable practices, but addressing the immediate impacts remains a critical priority.
National Policy and the Road Ahead
Data centres have transcended industrial trend status to become central to national economic policy. Former President Donald Trump pledged the construction of the largest AI infrastructure project in history, framing it as “a future powered by American data.” This federal emphasis accelerates infrastructure development, particularly in key states like Georgia, where natural conditions favor data centre operations.
For residents like Beverly Morris, however, the promise of technological progress brings immediate challenges. What was once a tranquil retirement haven has transformed into a noisy, water-intensive facility casting doubts on environmental and quality-of-life standards.
As AI and cloud computing demand continue rising, balancing innovation with sustainable resource management will be critical. The key question remains: how to power tomorrow’s digital world without depleting essential natural resources such as water a basic need that remains far from virtual.
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