Residents warn of water, noise and power risks from planned data center expansion; city and company offer clarifications

Residents and a lake-homeowners association urged the Columbiana City Council to scrutinize a planned expansion of a data center in the industrial park, raising concerns about water use, noise, light, air pollution and potential effects on utility rates.

Garen Jensen, president of the Lay Lake Homeowners and Boat Owners Association, told the council that data centers consume large volumes of water and power and that one already operating near Columbiana had prompted worries about aquifer depletion, noise and light near a nearby junior high school. “There are negative effects of data centers. They consume huge amounts of energy,” Jensen said, adding the facilities can require extensive cooling systems and generate noise and light that affect nearby neighborhoods.

Council members and the mayor responded during public comment. A representative for DigiPowerX, the company operating in the industrial park, said the Columbiana facility is a small, tier‑3 operation on about 13 acres that recycles water rather than discharging it directly. The company representative and city staff gave the following details in the meeting: the facility’s initial water use was estimated at roughly 3,000 gallons per day with a projected peak of about 11,000 gallons per day; its wastewater would go to the municipal sewer treatment plant; the operation uses a water‑cooled system that reuses water on site; and the company has an agreement for a dedicated substation with Alabama Power. The company representative said a 55‑megawatt figure cited in some public reporting represents a maximum Alabama Power indicated it could serve, not the facility’s current draw.

Mayor David Mitchell said he signed a non‑disclosure agreement (NDA) with the company in his capacity as mayor to obtain technical details and that legal counsel and the county’s economic development agency advised that such NDAs are common. Mitchell said he asked the company whether he could release specific numbers and shared what the company allowed him to disclose in public sessions. He also told residents that public‑records requests may be used to obtain city documents if the attorney clears them for release.

Council and staff described the regulatory landscape for the concerns raised: water permits and pollution are overseen by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), and electric‑rate impacts are subject to the Alabama Public Service Commission. City officials said the municipal water and sewer departments and the company had discussed water and wastewater handling, and that the city could not unilaterally prohibit a properly zoned private company from operating in an M‑2 industrial district if it complies with law.

Why it matters: residents said the cumulative effect of high‑performance computing centers can strain water supplies, raise utility costs for local customers, and create local noise and light impacts, especially near schools and residential neighborhoods. City and company representatives said the local operation currently planned is smaller than some larger facilities in other states, uses recycled water, and has not produced formal complaints in the three years it has operated in the industrial park.

What’s next: residents urged the council and county to monitor water and energy contracts, and the mayor encouraged residents to file public‑records requests for documentation the city can legally release.