Culpeper council directs staff to seek county permit for 2-million‑gallon reclaimed‑water tank to cool data centers

The Town of Culpeper on a September evening directed staff to request a conditional‑use permit from Culpeper County to site a municipal reclaimed‑water tank that would supply cooling water to data centers in the Culpeper Technology Campus.

Town staff described a system that would include a 3,500,000‑gallon‑per‑day pump station at the wastewater treatment plant, chlorine disinfection to meet DEQ requirements, and a proposed 2,000,000‑gallon elevated storage tank sized to meet peak cooling demands. Town Manager said Culpeper Technology Campus has agreed to pay "100% of all costs, including permit, design, and construction costs," and that the town would own the tank and the pipeline between the plant and the tank.

"The use of this reclaimed water for cooling will greatly reduce the energy consumption of the data centers," the Town Manager said, and staff said using reclaimed water would also reduce effluent discharge from the wastewater plant and the nutrient load reaching Mountain Run.

Town staff described two candidate tank sites on the campus and recommended Site B because it is closer to the wastewater plant, rated better on visibility and expandability, and would let the town own and maintain the pipe and tank outside a secured data‑center footprint. Staff noted the system would return roughly 35 percent of the cooled effluent to the wastewater plant and that DEQ modeling and approvals will be required to determine allowable withdrawals and any river‑ or stream‑flow impacts.

Council members asked about ownership, permitting fees, security and whether the system would limit other potential users. Staff said the developer would pay permit fees and construction costs, the town would own the pump station and the pipeline segment to the tank, and the intent would be to make any excess capacity available to other users in the future. Staff also said operators would carry out routine checks and that the tank would be fenced but not placed inside a secured data‑center compound to preserve town access.

Council voted to direct staff to pursue the county conditional‑use permit and any required approvals; staff will return with details of the required DEQ approvals and subsequent agreements governing ownership, operations and fees.