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Board approves $42M change order tied to data center reuse system; county says no immediate cost
Summary
The board approved a change order to a Massaponics wastewater plant contract that staff said is being paid by Amazon; county officials said the early-work package allows necessary treatment trains for Level 1 reuse without immediate county expenditure.
The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved a contract change order tied to the Massaponics wastewater treatment plant expansion that staff said is necessary to deliver Level 1 reuse water for data-center cooling and other nonpotable uses.
Assistant County Administrator Ben Loveday described the work as part of the plant's early-work package and said the change order — "in the amount of the 42,000,000 and change" — is associated with duct banks, footings and foundations that must be integrated into the contractor's current scope. "How much it's going to cost us, which is actually 0 at this point," Loveday said, explaining that Amazon Data Services is funding the increase to meet the county's contractual reuse commitments.
Loveday gave a broader cost picture for the reuse system: the treatment portion is estimated at about $115 million; the distribution infrastructure that will serve data centers and other future industrial or irrigation uses was described in the meeting as falling in the $200–$300 million range. Staff and supervisors framed the project as a long-term community asset that could provide an additional water source to augment reservoirs or support potable reuse in the future.
The board approved the item as part of the consent package after a brief staff briefing and a supervisor request to explain costs and long-term benefits.
No amendment to county operating budgets was approved at the meeting; staff said capital and proffer arrangements and third-party funding (Amazon) cover the immediate change-order amount and further treatment plans will come back to the board for review.
