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Resident warns JPS board about water impacts if data centers are approved; cites 2022 water crisis
Summary
A public commenter urged the school board to consider where cooling water for proposed data centers would come from and how that use would affect Jackson’s already-stressed water system.
Erin Shirley Ory appeared during public comment to urge the Jackson Public School District board not to approve any data-center-related actions until the source and impact of cooling water are clarified.
Ory described multiple cooling technologies used by data centers and told the board that an "evaporative cooling" hyperscale facility can use between "1 and 5,000,000 gallons of water per day," while closed-loop or air-cooling systems use less water but may require more power. She said much of the water used by data centers is treated to drinking-water standards.
Ory tied the concern to local infrastructure: she reminded trustees of the 2022 failure of Jackson’s largest water treatment plant that left about 160,000 residents without safe drinking water and said the city's water utility is struggling with roughly $30 million in outstanding invoices, citing remarks from interim manager Ted Henifin. "Any decision made by the school board of trustees must consider where the water will come from and how it will impact our existing water system," she said.
Why it matters: Data-center developments can impose large day-to-day water and energy demands; in communities with aging or stressed water systems, those demands may compete with municipal and residential needs.
The comment was delivered during public comment; the board did not take action during the meeting on data center approvals.
