Georgia Data Center’s Unbilled Water Use Sparks Community Outcry

A Fayette County investigation revealed that the Quality Technology Services (QTS) “Project Excalibur” data-center campus drew roughly 29–30 million gallons of water through two industrial-scale connections that were not recorded in the county’s billing system. The county billed QTS $147,474–$150,000 in retroactive charges, but no fines were imposed for exceeding the peak-usage limits set during the site’s planning approval.

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 m

Georgia hosts more than 200 data-center facilities, and the Fayetteville campus—spanning 615 acres with 13 buildings totaling about 6.2 million sq ft—represents one of the nation’s largest developments. Construction began in 2023 and is expected to continue for three to five years. The state is experiencing moderate to severe drought, and Fayette County is transitioning from legacy water meters to a cloud-based smart-meter system while operating with a single staff member responsible for inspections and plan reviews.

Georgia Data Center Secretly Drained 29 Million Gallons Before Residents’ Low Water Pressure Exposed It

• Quality Technology Services (QTS) – Blackstone-owned developer of the campus.

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 m

• Vanessa Tigert – Director of the Fayette County Water System.

Breitbart

• James Clifton – Attorney and candidate for the Fayette County Board of Commissioners.

New York Post

• Gregory Pierce – Director, UCLA Water Resources Group.

New York Post

• Fayette County officials – Including the water-system department and the county board.

Breitbart

• Unmetered consumption: ~29–30 million gallons (?44 Olympic-size swimming pools).

Daily Caller

• Retroactive charge: $147,474–$150,000.

Georgia Data Center Secretly Drained 29 Million Gallons Before Residents’ Low Water Pressure Exposed It

• Estimated duration of unmetered use: county staff cites ~4 months; QTS cites 9–15 months.

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 m

• Campus size: 615 acres, up to 16 buildings, current 13 buildings, 6.2 million sq ft.

Georgia Data Center Secretly Drained 29 Million Gallons Before Residents’ Low Water Pressure Exposed It

• Projected property-tax revenue: $150–200 million annually.

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 m

• Planned operational water use: domestic needs only, roughly equivalent to four households per month.

Breitbart

County water director Tigert explained that the oversight resulted from a “procedural error” during the smart-meter transition and noted the department’s limited staffing. QTS attributed the high water draw to construction activities such as concrete placement, dust control, and site preparation, emphasizing that its closed-loop cooling system will limit future water demand to domestic uses. The county declined to assess penalties, citing QTS as its largest water customer and the desire to maintain a partnership relationship.

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 m

Local residents and advocacy groups expressed frustration that the county asked households to conserve water while the data center consumed the majority of the county’s supply. Clifton argued that the county’s “customer-service” stance placed an unfair burden on individuals. Pierce highlighted the absence of fines as potentially driven by the desire to avoid alienating a major commercial client. The Fayetteville city council has enacted a ban on new data-center construction, and the Georgia Public Service Commission has frozen base electricity rates for data centers through 2028.

AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials refuse to fine builders of massive 6.2 m

Sources differ on the length of the unmetered period (four months vs. nine to fifteen months). The county has not disclosed whether internal inspection records existed for the connections. No independent audit of the water-usage data has been released, leaving the precise magnitude of the over-consumption unverified.

Breitbart

• “our largest customer, and we have to be partners. It’s called customer service.” — Vanessa Tigert, Director, Fayette County Water System

New York Post

• “We get this notification from Fayette County water system saying you need to stop watering your lawns to help conserve water,” — James Clifton, Attorney, Fayette County Board Candidate

New York Post

• “So the first thing they do is lean on the individuals and the citizens to stop water consumption when we have QTS that’s just absolutely draining us — most months it’s the No. 1 consumer of water in the county.” — James Clifton, Attorney

Breitbart

• “I don’t know exactly what’s happening here, but they probably don’t want to upset one of their new and largest customers,” — Gregory Pierce, Director, UCLA Water Resources Group

New York Post

• “Fayette County is a suburb, it’s mostly residential, and we don’t have much commercial meters in our system anyway,” — Vanessa Tigert, Director, Fayette County Water System

Georgia Data Center Secretly Drained 29 Million Gallons Before Residents’ Low Water Pressure Exposed It

The campus is slated for full build-out by 2028–2029, during which construction-related water use may persist. Fayette County’s water-system modernization continues amid staffing constraints. Ongoing community opposition and municipal bans suggest heightened scrutiny of future data-center projects, while state-wide drought conditions may prompt additional regulatory measures on water consumption.

Breitbart