Clean water advocates worry about data center impact on drinking water

Surface runoff after rain in large city. Public domain image.

by Hannah Marsik, Capital News Service

LANSING – Stormwater runoff at the sites of data centers is another environmental challenge facing developers because the runoff contains particulates harmful to the public and the ecosystem, according to Reese Dillard, the Michigan Environmental Council’s water policy coordinator.

Amidst growing public concerns about possible adverse climate effects of data centers such as high energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, the lesser-known threat in stormwater runoff and waste could be just as dangerous, Dillard said.

Data centers are facilities used to store, process and transmit digital information.

Construction sites need to “upgrade stormwater infrastructure,” she said.

She said that due to climate change there is increased precipitation and subsequently more flooding at data centers.

Data centers use large amounts of water, most drawing from municipal systems, treated wastewater or directly from surface or groundwater.

That water is used to absorb heat generated by the computer servers and equipment, and then cycled into cooling towers where some of it evaporates into the atmosphere. The remaining water is cycled back through to absorb more heat.

“The pollutants that may be present in data center wastewater discharges depend upon several factors,” according to a July report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

They include the “source and quality of the water being used for cooling, the cooling technology being used, site-specific operations and whether the discharges are from normal operations or from construction and commissioning phases,” the report said.

Data centers typically use a variety of chemical treatments for their cooling systems.

They include, but are not limited to, acids, disinfectants, biocides, corrosion inhibitors and dispersants, according to the report. And data center discharges may include those chemicals during maintenance or center start-up.

Discharges are typically released into wetlands or streams, introducing harmful pollutants into the nearby ecosystem, the report said, and they could end up in the water lines if not properly treated.

“Wastewater discharges may also contain pollutants that are products of metal pipe corrosion, such as copper, nickel and chromium,” the report said.

Ingesting these chemicals raises public health concerns as they can cause problems such as severe nausea, vomiting, headaches and dizziness, as well as harm to liver, kidneys, respiratory systems, stomach and intestinal lining, according to the National Library of Medicine.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.