Water Ledger Michigan

Data centers 101

Data centers and water: the basics

Background for Michigan residents, township board members and reporters looking at a data center proposal. Each number and fact on this page has a numbered link to its source, listed at the bottom. Water Ledger does not take a side on any project.

Sources accessed October 26, 2026. Unit conversions and example arithmetic are ours and are marked as such.

What a data center is

A data center is a building filled with computers: servers, storage drives and network equipment. From outside, many look like warehouses or distribution centers.1 The equipment runs around the clock.2 Electricity powers the computers and the cooling equipment that keeps them from overheating.1

Three kinds

  • Enterprise. Owned and run by one company for its own computing, often a bank, insurer or card company, and often inside a corporate campus. This is a shrinking part of the market.1
  • Colocation. A company owns the building and provides power, cooling and security, and leases space to tenants, often 20 or more of them.1
  • Hyperscale. The largest facilities, built for the biggest technology companies, such as Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta and Microsoft. The tech company may own it, or a developer may build it and lease it to them.1 Amazon, Microsoft and Google together own more than half of all hyperscale data centers.2

The proposal tracker on this site lists Michigan projects from Microsoft, Google, and Oracle building for OpenAI, plus developers whose tenants have not been named.

What "megawatts" means

A megawatt (MW) measures power at one moment. A megawatt-hour measures energy used over time.1 A small data center can need 5 to 20 MW and a large one 100 MW or more. Campuses with several buildings reach hundreds of megawatts, and some pass 1,000 MW (one gigawatt, or GW).1 For scale, Virginia's legislative auditors estimate that a town of 10,000 people uses about 10 MW.1

Two different numbers both get called "the size." IT load is the power the computers draw. Facility power is the total from the grid, including cooling, lighting and electrical losses. Facility power divided by IT power is called PUE, for power usage effectiveness.2 The U.S. average PUE fell from 1.6 in 2014 to 1.4 in 2023, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) projects 1.15 to 1.35 by 2028.2 Google reports that its sites in The Dalles, Oregon needed only 6% to 10% extra energy for cooling and power distribution in late 2025, a PUE of about 1.06 to 1.10.3

Example arithmetic (ours): 100 MW of IT load at a PUE of 1.2 draws about 120 MW from the grid at full load. When a proposal gives one megawatt figure, it helps to ask which of the two it is.

How they are built

Where they go

Data center markets cluster where land, power and fiber-optic networks are available. Many sit near population and business centers so data travels a shorter distance to customers.1 In Virginia's 2024 study, companies named their top site factors as state sales tax exemptions, access to power, available land, workforce quality, customer needs, a business-friendly regulatory climate, and utility and other costs.1 Some AI work, such as training large language models, does not need to be close to users, so those facilities can go farther from established markets.1

Water matters most for designs that evaporate it. Google, for example, says it rates local water risk at each site and uses the result to choose its cooling technology.3

Michigan's tax exemption

Michigan exempts data center equipment from sales and use tax under laws signed in December 2024 and January 2025.4 To qualify as an "enterprise data center," a project must meet several conditions, including these:5

  • at least $250 million in capital investment;
  • at least 30 new jobs paying at least 150% of the regional median wage;
  • a green building certification, such as LEED, Energy Star or Green Globes, within 3 years of opening;
  • water from a municipal system that has capacity to serve it;
  • clean energy procurement.

The exemption runs through 2050, or through 2065 on brownfield sites and former power plant sites.5 A facility using it cannot also receive a local property tax break unless each affected city, village, township or county approves the break by resolution.5

What is on a campus

Typical data center campus layout A fenced site with a substation fed by a high-voltage line, three data hall buildings with cooling equipment on top, a yard of backup generators, an office, a stormwater pond, and a road carrying the water main and sewer. High-voltage line Substation Data hall Data hall Data hall Backup generators and fuel Office Stormwater pond Water in (solid), sewer out (dashed) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  1. Substation. Large data centers often connect directly to nearby high-voltage transmission lines through their own lines and substations.1
  2. Data halls. The buildings that hold the computer rooms. In Virginia they range from a few thousand square feet to multi-story buildings over one million square feet.1
  3. Cooling equipment. Dry coolers, chillers or cooling towers, depending on the design (see What they use).2
  4. Backup generators and fuel. All data centers keep backup generators, and in Virginia nearly all are diesel, typically 1 to 3 MW each.1 Virginia sites average 54 permitted generators.1
  5. Office and security. Many sites have fencing, floodlights and access controls.1
  6. Stormwater pond. Stormwater permits require controls, such as an on-site pond, to slow and filter runoff from roofs and paving.1
  7. Water main and sewer. Most data centers get their water from the local utility.1

Illustrative layout, not a specific site. Google's planned Van Buren Township campus, for example, has three data center buildings plus an administrative office and a network building on 282 acres.6

How long it takes

Virginia's auditors give these figures for one data center building, not a whole campus. A typical building is about 250,000 square feet. One takes 12 to 18 months to build, with about 1,500 construction workers on site at the peak, and has about 50 full-time workers once open, about half of them contractors. Building and equipping one costs $250 million to $325 million.1

A campus is usually several buildings, built in phases over a few years: Virginia's roughly 150 data center sites hold about 340 buildings,1 and Google's 1 GW campus in Van Buren Township is planned as three buildings.8 So construction time, workers and cost grow roughly with the number of buildings, although crews often move from one building to the next and the newest buildings can be much larger than Virginia's typical one.

Large campuses open in stages. Oracle expected the Saline Township campus to open in December 2026, and DTE's filing said it would not reach its full 1.4 GW until December 2027.7 Google's Van Buren campus is expected to begin drawing power by December 2027 and reach 1 GW within a year after that.8

How big recent campuses are

Virginia, the largest U.S. market, has about 150 data center sites with about 340 buildings, holding more than 63 million square feet on 7,200 acres and using about 5,050 MW.1 In Michigan, the Saline Township campus is planned at 1.4 GW7 on 250 acres of a 575-acre site.9 Google's Van Buren Township campus is about 1 GW, with about 150 of its 282 acres developed.8 The University of Michigan's planned facility in Ypsilanti Township is about 100 MW.10

What they use

Electricity

LBNL's 2024 report for the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that U.S. data centers used about 58 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 201411, 76 TWh in 2018 (1.9% of U.S. use) and 176 TWh in 2023 (4.4%).2 It projects 325 to 580 TWh in 2028, or 6.7% to 12% of U.S. electricity. LBNL attributes most of the growth since 2017 to GPU-accelerated servers used for AI.2

In Michigan, DTE told regulators it expected the Saline Township campus to raise its current peak electric load by about 25%.7

Water on site

On-site water goes mostly to cooling. How much depends on the size of the facility, how densely the computers are packed, and the cooling design.1 The main designs, from least water to most:

DesignHow it worksWater
Closed loop (designed to use no water for cooling)Fans and a sealed loop of liquid carry heat to the outside air, much like a car radiator.1Little. Loudoun County, Virginia says closed loops lose 0 to 5% of the water used.12 These systems use more electricity than evaporative ones.2
Evaporative assist (adiabatic)Mostly dry, but water is sprayed on pads ahead of the coils in hot, dry weather.2Only on hot hours. Microsoft says its systems of this kind use water only above 85 °F: about 10% of the year in Virginia, up to 40% in Phoenix.13
HybridOutside air or dry coolers in cool months, evaporative cooling in warm months. Many Potomac basin facilities work this way.14Seasonal, with large summer peaks.14
Cooling towers (open loop)Water-cooled chillers send heat to cooling towers, where water evaporates.2Most. Loudoun County says 75 to 85% of the water evaporates and 15 to 25% goes to the sewer.12

The usual measure is WUE (water usage effectiveness): liters of water per kilowatt-hour used by the computers.2 LBNL puts the U.S. average just over 0.36 liters per kWh through 2023, rising to 0.45 to 0.48 after 2023.2 Microsoft reports a 2025 fleet average of 0.27, and says a design it introduced in 2024 uses no water for cooling during operations, using a closed loop with no evaporation.13

Where a data center's water goes Water comes from a public water system or an on-site well and is used for cooling and the building. Some evaporates into the air. The rest goes to the sewer, then a wastewater plant, then a river or lake. Rain on roofs and paving runs to a stormwater pond and then a stream. Public water system or an on-site well Cooling and building use (people, cleaning, some humidity) Evaporated leaves as vapor To the sewer blowdown and staff use Wastewater plant River or lake Rain on roofs and paving Stormwater pond, then a stream Dashed: rain, a separate path from the water supply
Where on-site water goes. The split depends on the design: for cooling towers, Loudoun County puts the evaporated share at 75 to 85%.12 In the Potomac basin, data centers typically send wastewater to municipal sewers.14 Power plants also evaporate water to make the electricity, which is counted separately (below).

Totals and peaks

LBNL estimates that U.S. data centers used 66 billion liters of water on site in 2023 (about 17 billion gallons, our conversion), 84% of it at hyperscale and colocation facilities.2 It projects hyperscale facilities alone at 60 to 124 billion liters in 2028.2

In Virginia, utilities reported that data centers used 2.1 billion gallons in 2023, just over a third of it reclaimed wastewater.1 That was less than 0.5% of the state's water withdrawals.1 Most buildings used about as much as an average large office building (6.7 million gallons a year) or less.1 Eleven buildings used more than 50 million gallons each, and one used 243 million.1 Google reports that its data centers and offices worldwide consumed 10.9 billion gallons in 2025, up 34% from 2024.3

Peaks matter as much as totals, because water systems are sized for the busiest day. In the Potomac River basin, data center use in a summer month can be close to three times the annual average, and on peak days as much as 10 times.14 The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) puts average use at 100 to 1,600 gallons a day per MW depending on cooling, and up to 8,500 gallons a day per MW at peak for evaporative cooling.14 For comparison, EPA says the average American family uses more than 300 gallons a day at home.15

The calculator on this site estimates average-day and hottest-day water for a size and cooling design you choose, using weather for each Michigan region. How it works is on the methods page.

Water at power plants

Power plants use water too, mostly to cool steam (thermoelectric) plants, and some of it evaporates. Hydropower reservoirs also lose water to evaporation.2 LBNL estimates that the electricity U.S. data centers used in 2023 came with nearly 800 billion liters of water consumed at power plants, a national average of 4.52 liters per kWh.2 Water Ledger's estimate for Michigan's own generation mix, which has little hydropower, is on the methods page.

Backup generators and air permits

Nearly all Virginia data centers keep diesel generators for power outages. The generators emit nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter, and need state air permits.1 Under federal rules, emergency engines have no hour limit during an actual emergency, but may run at most 100 hours a year for maintenance checks and readiness testing.16

In Virginia, most operators reported zero to two minor outages per site over two years. Testing is typically a 10 to 30 minute monthly run and one 1 to 4 hour annual test.1 In 2023 the industry's actual emissions were 7% of what its permits allowed, and data center generators made up less than 4% of Northern Virginia's nitrogen oxide emissions.1 The Sierra Club's Michigan chapter has called backup generators a major source of toxic air pollution for nearby communities.4

A Michigan example: Switch's data center in the former Steelcase Pyramid in Kent County runs under Permits to Install from the state Air Quality Division. One permit covers up to 60 diesel emergency engines rated up to 3,010 kW each.17 Six had been installed when state staff inspected in August 2022.17 The inspection report says the site would become a major source of nitrogen oxides, needing a federal Title V permit, at about the 33rd engine.17

Noise

Whether a data center can be heard past its property line depends on its design and its cooling system. In Northern Virginia, noise that drew complaints measured about 40 to 59 A-weighted decibels, usually below the 55 or 60 decibel residential limits in local ordinances.1 Residents describe a constant drone or hum, and it is the constancy, more than the volume, that they object to.1 Virginia's auditors suggested localities use measures that capture low-frequency sound, such as C-weighted decibels, and set limits in zoning ordinances.1

Saline Township's 2025 consent judgment sets a 55 decibel limit.9 In August 2026 Gaines Township approved a study of existing noise near the proposed Microsoft site, before any data center is built.18

Land, stormwater and wastewater

Virginia's data centers occupy about 7,200 acres.1 Their effects on stormwater and wetlands are similar to those of other developments with large roofs and parking areas, such as warehouses or shopping centers. Stormwater permits require controls in proportion to the new hard surface, but some effects can remain, such as less water soaking into the ground and warmer water downstream.1

In Michigan, earth changes of one acre or more, or within 500 feet of a lake or stream, generally need a soil erosion and sedimentation control permit (Part 91). Construction sites of 5 acres or more also file a Notice of Coverage with EGLE for stormwater, and erosion controls must be inspected weekly by a certified stormwater operator.19 Google's Van Buren campus received state wetland permits in August 2026.8

Most data centers in the Potomac basin send wastewater to municipal sewers. ICPRB notes that facilities with their own discharges raise questions about temperature, salinity and minerals in the wastewater that may need more study.14 In Michigan, EGLE has proposed a permit for an on-site plant at the Saline Township campus to discharge treated sanitary wastewater to the Saline River.20

What has happened elsewhere

These are places where data centers have already been proposed, built or stopped, with what was reported and who reported it. Some cases are about water and some about other local effects.

The Dalles, Oregon2021 to 2025 · Google

A city went to court to keep a data center's water use private

In 2021 The Oregonian asked the city for records of Google's water use.21 The city refused, calling the figures a trade secret. The Wasco County district attorney ordered the records released, and the city then sued the newspaper to block it.22 After 13 months the city settled in December 2022 and agreed to release 10 years of data and future annual totals. Google agreed to cover the city's $106,000 in legal costs and the $53,000 the city owed the newspaper's lawyers.21

The records showed Google used 355 million gallons in 2021, 29% of all water used in the city and about three times its 2017 use.23 Google reports consuming 469 million gallons there in 2025. It says it completed an aquifer storage and recovery system in 2025, gave it and related groundwater rights to the city, and has put more than $28 million into the city's water and wastewater systems.3

Chandler and Mesa, Arizona2015 to 2021 · several operators

Two desert cities set rules for large new water users

Chandler adopted a Sustainable Water Use policy in 2015 to keep large new industrial users from harming supplies for existing customers. The city says no new data centers have opened there since.24 NBC News reported that Chandler began studying the issue in 2013 after learning how much water one data center was using.25

In May 2021 the Mesa council approved an $800 million data center that could need up to 1.25 million gallons a day. It was the first project for which Mesa required water credits from the Salt River Project as backup groundwater supply. Vice Mayor Jenn Duff cast the only no vote. Mesa had earlier approved a Google facility that could use up to 4 million gallons a day.25 In August 2021 Mesa described a new ordinance for customers projecting 500,000 gallons a day or more: they must stay within a water budget, and some must bring their own water, such as through long-term storage credits.26

Loudoun County, Virginia2010 to 2026 · many operators

The largest market, partly cooled with reclaimed wastewater

Northern Virginia is the largest data center market in the world, with 13% of reported operating capacity worldwide.1 Loudoun Water started a reclaimed water system in 2010 to supply cooling water to the county's data centers, and it delivered more than 750 million gallons in 2025.27 The county says data centers account for 9% of its potable water use on an average day. Its Board of Supervisors set up a special exception process for data centers in March 2025.12

ICPRB found that about 40% of facilities in the Washington metro area rely only on air cooling. Data centers there are 1% of water withdrawals but 9% of water consumed over a year and up to 12% in summer.14

Tucson and Pima County, Arizona2025 to 2026 · Beale Infrastructure

A city ended talks; the project moved to county land with dry cooling

On August 6, 2025, the Tucson City Council voted unanimously to stop staff work on Project Blue, a data center planned on 290 acres. More than 100 opponents had raised concerns about its water use.28 Two weeks later the council unanimously passed an ordinance for users of about 7.5 million gallons a month or more. They must file a conservation plan with their water service application, offset at least 30% of their use with recycled water, and show the water will not be wasted.29

In December 2025 Pima County supervisors voted 3 to 2 for a binding agreement with the developer, Beale Infrastructure, committing it to closed-loop cooling instead of the original evaporative design that needed city water.30 In May 2026 Tucson revoked a water permit after a contractor used city water for dust control at the site, and asked for 2 acre-feet in water credits.31

Newton County, Georgia2018 to 2026 · Meta

Neighbors blame construction for muddy wells; Meta disputes it

Meta's Stanton Springs campus, about 45 minutes east of Atlanta, broke ground in 2018.32 The head of the county's water and sewerage authority told NewsNation it uses about 10% of the county's daily water, a figure NewsNation links to a July 2025 New York Times report.33

Nearby families say their well water filled with silt and sediment after construction began. In August 2026 four families sued Meta, alleging that clearing, blasting and excavation disturbed the aquifer.32 Meta says a consultant's study found groundwater flows away from the families' properties and that the site is not likely the cause, that the campus uses only utility water, and that the well problems reflect well age and maintenance.32,34 No court had ruled on the claims as of WSB-TV's October 21, 2026 report.34

Memphis, Tennessee2024 to 2025 · xAI

Gas turbines and an air permit fight

xAI's "Colossus" supercomputer was announced in June 2024 at a former Electrolux plant in South Memphis. Residents and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) said xAI ran gas turbines on site without the required permits; xAI said an operational waiver allowed it. Local reporting described as many as 35 turbines on site.35 The Shelby County Health Department issued an air permit on July 2, 2025,35 covering 15 permanent turbines. On December 15, 2025 the county Air Pollution Control Board voted 6 to 1 to uphold it after an appeal by the NAACP and Young, Gifted & Green.36

On water, the city utility said Colossus uses up to 1 million gallons a day of city water for cooling, and a planned $80 million plant would recycle treated wastewater for cooling.35

Cerrillos, Santiago, Chile2020 to 2024 · Google

A court sent a groundwater-cooled design back for review

Chile approved a Google data center in Cerrillos in October 2020. Its cooling would have drawn groundwater from three wells in the Santiago Central Aquifer. Residents and the municipality challenged the approval, and in 2022 Google filed a change to air-cooled condensers.37 In 2024 Chile's Second Environmental Court partially overturned the approval and ordered the water assessment redone to account for climate change (sources give different dates for the ruling).37,38 In September 2024 Google said it would withdraw the project and restart approval with an air-cooled design.38

Zeewolde, Netherlands2021 to 2023 · Meta

A rezoning reversed after an election

In late 2021 the Zeewolde council changed its zoning plan to allow a Meta data center on farmland, with five server halls on 166 hectares, which would have been the country's largest.39,40 Its power demand was compared to that of a city of 460,000 people.39 Opponents won a council majority in March 2022, Meta paused the project, and in July 2022 it dropped the plan. The national cabinet had refused to approve the sale of part of the land.39 In September 2023 the Council of State, the top administrative court, struck down the zoning plan.40 The objections centered on size, farmland, power and waste heat, not water.40

Michigan so far

Short summaries. The proposal tracker has more entries and is kept current.

Saline Township, Washtenaw County2025 to 2026 · Related Digital, for Oracle and OpenAI

A consent judgment filed October 15, 2025 settled the township's lawsuit and let the project go ahead.9 Under it, water at the site will not be used for cooling, the campus has its own well and wastewater treatment, noise is limited to 55 decibels, and the developer funds farmland preservation ($4 million), a community fund ($2 million) and fire services ($8 million).9 The campus is planned at 1.4 GW.7 EGLE's draft permit would let its on-site plant discharge treated sanitary wastewater to the Saline River; the first comment period closed August 24, 2026.20 EGLE then held a public hearing online on October 21, 2026 on the draft permit (MI0060445), with written comments through October 23.44

Van Buren Township, Wayne County2026 · Google (Panattoni, developer)

A township FAQ estimated 2 to 3.6 million gallons of water a day.41 One of three buildings would use open-loop cooling and the other two closed-loop or forced-air systems, with water from the Great Lakes Water Authority.6 The planning commission approved the final site plan 5 to 1 in October 2026. The state approved DTE's power contracts on October 1.8 Google will pay the township $15.4 million for local infrastructure, and the township and county agreed to half-price local taxes, estimated at $125 million over 12 years.8

Ypsilanti Township, Washtenaw County2025 to 2026 · University of Michigan with Los Alamos National Laboratory

A $1.25 billion research computing facility of about 100 MW. The university says it will not draw water from or discharge water into the Huron River.10 A university official told Planet Detroit it could use up to 500,000 gallons a day. In April 2026 the township asked the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority for a 12-month pause on water service to data centers,42 and the utility approved a 12-month moratorium.10

Augusta Township, Washtenaw County2025 to 2026 · Thor Equities

MLive reported in 2025 that the proposed data center could use 1 million gallons of water a day, as cited by Planet Detroit.42 In the August 2026 primary, about 90% of voters overturned the rezoning for the $1 billion project, and residents filed petitions to recall all seven township board members.43

Gaines Township, Kent County2026 · Microsoft

The site covers more than 400 acres. A rezoning request for some parcels has been tabled since April 2026.18 The township approved a baseline noise study, with results expected in spring 2027.18

Questions communities ask

These come up at most hearings. Each points to where an answer usually comes from.

  • Where the water comes from, and how much on the hottest day. The water utility and the applicant. Utilities know plant capacity, current peak demand and any wholesale contract limits; no statewide public dataset has these (see the methods page). Van Buren Township published its estimate in an FAQ.41 ICPRB recommends daily-scale reporting of data center water use.14
  • Which cooling design, and when it uses water. The site plan or rezoning application. A binding agreement can fix the design, as Saline Township's consent judgment did by ruling out water for cooling.9
  • Who pays for water, sewer and power upgrades. Development and utility agreements, and for electric contracts, the Michigan Public Service Commission.7,8 In The Dalles, a 2021 water rights deal obliged Google to pay for an upgrade to the city's water system, in exchange for a share of the added water.21
  • How many backup generators, and how often they run. The applicant's air permit application to EGLE's Air Quality Division, which lists engine count and size.17 Federal rules generally cap maintenance and testing at 100 hours a year per engine.16
  • How loud, and when. A baseline noise study before construction and a decibel limit in the zoning conditions. Low-frequency sound may need its own measure.1,18
  • Tax abatements. The township or city board and the county. A project using Michigan's sales tax exemption can only get a local property tax break if each affected local government approves it by resolution.5
  • Where wastewater and stormwater go. The sewer utility for blowdown and sanitary flow; EGLE for direct discharges and construction stormwater.20,19

See something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction.

Sources

Numbered in order of first use. All accessed October 26, 2026.

  1. Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Virginia (December 9, 2024). Data Centers in Virginia 2024. Report 598. https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt598.pdf Accessed October 26, 2026.
  2. Shehabi, A., et al. (December 2024). 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LBNL-2001637. https://doi.org/10.71468/P1WC7Q Accessed October 26, 2026.
  3. Google (2026). 2026 Environmental Report (data for 2025). https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-mobius-cdn/sustainability/uploads/7f477eb723fe0c23d03f94b90a08882b9f28187d.pdf Accessed October 26, 2026.
  4. Michigan Public (February 4, 2025). Michigan legislation encourages data centers to come to Michigan despite environmental concerns. https://www.michiganpublic.org/environment-climate-change/2025-02-04/michigan-legislation-encourages-data-centers-to-come-to-michigan-despite-environmental-concerns Accessed October 26, 2026.
  5. Michigan Legislature. MCL 205.54ee, General Sales Tax Act, Sec. 4ee (data center equipment exemption), as amended by 2024 PA 207 (HB 4906). https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-205-54ee Accessed October 26, 2026.
  6. New Project Media (February 2026). "Zoning: Michigan township recommends approval for 1 GW+ Panattoni data center campus." https://newprojectmedia.com/?p=18128 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  7. Michigan Public (December 4, 2025). On DTE's request to fast-track its Saline Township data center contracts. https://www.michiganpublic.org/2025-12-04/michiganders-urge-regulators-not-to-rush-approval-for-data-center-power-plan Accessed October 26, 2026.
  8. Bridge Michigan (October 14, 2026; updated October 20, 2026). "Township vote paves way for Michigan's second hyperscale data center." https://bridgemi.com/?p=81283 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  9. Planet Detroit (October 21, 2025). On the Saline Township consent judgment with Related Digital. https://planetdetroit.org/2025/10/saline-data-center-settlement/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  10. Planet Detroit (October 2, 2026). On a protest of the U-M and Los Alamos computing facility in Ypsilanti Township. https://planetdetroit.org/2026/10/um-regent-joins-ypsilanti-data-center-protest/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  11. U.S. Department of Energy (December 20, 2024). News release on the 2024 LBNL data center energy report. https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-new-report-evaluating-increase-electricity-demand-data-centers Accessed October 26, 2026.
  12. Loudoun County, Virginia. Water Considerations (data centers). https://www.loudoun.gov/6402/Water-Considerations Accessed October 26, 2026.
  13. Microsoft (June 24, 2026). Inside Microsoft's two-decade push to cut water intensity while scaling for growth. Official Microsoft Blog. https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/06/24/inside-microsofts-two-decade-push-to-cut-water-intensity-while-scaling-for-growth/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  14. Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (March 2026). Data Centers and Water Use in the Potomac River Basin. Fact sheet, prepared by A. Seck. https://www.potomacriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICPRB.DataCentersandWaterUse.ICPRB_.March2026.pdf Accessed October 26, 2026.
  15. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WaterSense. How We Use Water. https://www.epa.gov/watersense/how-we-use-water Accessed October 26, 2026.
  16. 40 CFR 60.4211(f), Standards of Performance for Stationary Compression Ignition Internal Combustion Engines: emergency engines (via Cornell Legal Information Institute). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/40/60.4211 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  17. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (now EGLE), Air Quality Division (August 3, 2022). Activity Report: On-site Inspection, SUPERNAP Grand Rapids, LLC (SRN P0709). https://www.deq.state.mi.us/Aps/downloads/SRN/P0709/P0709_SAR_20220803.pdf Accessed October 26, 2026.
  18. Mitchell, K. (August 26, 2026). On Gaines Township's noise study near the proposed Microsoft data center. WOOD TV8, republished by Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gaines-township-research-noise-proposed-215143809.html Accessed October 26, 2026.
  19. Michigan EGLE (rev. March 2022). Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Permits and Stormwater Coverage for Construction Activities. https://www.michigan.gov/egle/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Programs/WRD/Storm-Water-SESC/SESC-Stormwater-Permit-Activities.pdf Accessed October 26, 2026.
  20. WEMU (August 19, 2026). "Saline wants answers from EGLE on proposed data center wastewater permit." https://www.wemu.org/wemu-news/2026-08-19/saline-wants-answers-from-egle-on-proposed-data-center-wastewater-permit Accessed October 26, 2026.
  21. Rogoway, M. (December 15, 2022). On The Dalles settling its public records lawsuit over Google's water use. The Oregonian/OregonLive, republished by Government Technology. https://www.govtech.com/analytics/the-dalles-ore-settles-lawsuit-over-google-data-centers Accessed October 26, 2026.
  22. Young, C. (December 15, 2022). Post on the settlement between The Dalles and The Oregonian. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. https://www.rcfp.org/dalles-google-oregonian-settlement/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  23. Rogoway, M. (December 17, 2022). "Google's water use is soaring in The Dalles, records show, with two more data centers to come." The Oregonian, reposted by WaterWatch of Oregon. https://waterwatch.org/googles-water-use-is-soaring-in-the-dalles-records-show-with-two-more-data-centers-to-come Accessed October 26, 2026.
  24. City of Chandler, Arizona. Colorado River Shortage (water policy page). https://www.chandleraz.gov/residents/water/colorado-river-shortage Accessed October 26, 2026.
  25. Solon, O. (June 19, 2021). "Drought-stricken communities push back against data centers." NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/drought-stricken-communities-push-back-against-data-centers-n1271344 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  26. City of Mesa (August 16, 2021). City news article on the Large Customer Sustainable Water Allowance ordinance. https://www.mesanow.org/news/public/article/2783 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  27. Loudoun Water. Reclaimed Water Program. https://www.loudounwater.org/commercial-customers/reclaimed-water-program Accessed October 26, 2026.
  28. Arizona's Family, KTVK/KPHO (August 6, 2025). On the Tucson City Council vote to end Project Blue. https://www.azfamily.com/2025/08/06/tucson-city-council-votes-end-project-blue/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  29. Arizona Public Media (August 2025). On Tucson's ordinance for large water users. https://news.azpm.org/s/101572-tucson-passes-ordinance-regulating-large-water-users-after-data-center-debate/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  30. KJZZ Fronteras Desk (December 17, 2025). On Pima County's agreement with Beale Infrastructure for Project Blue. https://www.kjzz.org/fronteras-desk/2025-12-17/pima-county-approves-deal-with-beale-infrastructure-pushing-project-blue-data-center-forward Accessed October 26, 2026.
  31. KJZZ, The Show (May 12, 2026). On Tucson revoking a water permit used during Project Blue construction. https://www.kjzz.org/the-show/2026-05-12/tucson-says-project-blue-developer-owes-the-city-water-after-revoking-permit Accessed October 26, 2026.
  32. Jackson, D., & Hansen, Z. (September 1, 2026). On four families' lawsuit against Meta over well water near its Newton County campus. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/09/georgia-families-sue-meta-accuse-its-data-center-of-tainting-their-water/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  33. NewsNation (2026; page shows no exact date). On muddy well water near Meta's Georgia data center. Links its county water-use figure to The New York Times, July 14, 2025. https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southeast/meta-data-center-georgia-muddy-water/amp/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  34. Webb, A. (October 21, 2026). On the families' lawsuit against Meta and Meta's response. WSB-TV Atlanta. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/4-georgia-families-sue-meta-claim-data-center-construction-contaminated-well-water/FVX726UR7FGJTLEAOYTQ4MDZ2Y/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  35. Ugwa, J. (July 17, 2025). "In South Memphis, Elon Musk's Colossus Operated Gas Turbines Without Appropriate Permits, Residents and Activists Claim." Inside Climate News. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17072025/elon-musk-xai-data-center-gas-turbines-memphis/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  36. Tri-State Defender (December 19, 2025). On the Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board upholding xAI's permit. https://tri-statedefender.com/xai-permit-upheld-after-intense-shelby-county-air-pollution-control-board-hearing/12/19/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  37. Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Climate Case Chart. Municipality of Cerrillos (Google Data Center) v. Evaluation Commission of the Metropolitan Region (Chile). https://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/municipality-of-cerrillos-google-data-center-v-evaluation-commission-of-the-metropolitan-region/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  38. Knobloch, A. (September 18, 2024). On Google withdrawing and redesigning its Cerrillos data center (German). heise online. https://heise.de/-9896661 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  39. DutchNews.nl (July 1, 2022). "'Not a good match': Facebook parent drops Zeewolde data centre plan." https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/07/not-a-good-match-facebook-parent-drops-zeewolde-data-centre-plan/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  40. NL Times (September 21, 2023). "Court strikes down Meta's data center plans in Zeewolde." https://nltimes.nl/node/68418 Accessed October 26, 2026.
  41. Michigan Public (February 6, 2026). On the proposed Project Cannoli data center in Van Buren Township. https://www.michiganpublic.org/transportation-infrastructure/2026-02-06/what-to-know-about-wayne-countys-proposed-data-center-project-cannoli Accessed October 26, 2026.
  42. Planet Detroit (April 17, 2026). On Ypsilanti Township's request for a pause on water service to data centers. https://planetdetroit.org/2026/04/ypsilanti-water-supply-data-centers/ Accessed October 26, 2026.
  43. WEMU (August 5, 2026). On Augusta Township voters overturning the data center rezoning. https://www.wemu.org/wemu-news/2026-08-05/augusta-township-voters-overturn-data-center-rezoning Accessed October 26, 2026.
  44. The Sun Times News (September 12, 2026). "State Schedules Hearing on Saline Township Data Center Discharge Permit." https://thesuntimesnews.com/state-schedules-hearing-on-saline-township-data-center-discharge-permit/ Accessed October 26, 2026.

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