Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Data Center Water topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Waco residents press council to investigate proposed Infra Key data center’s water use and neighborhood siting
Summary
Residents told the Waco City Council on Feb. 17 that documents and texts about the proposed Infra Key data center show widely different water‑use figures and that the project is planned in a residential area; they urged transparency and asked staff to investigate.
At the Feb. 17 Waco City Council meeting, three Ross Road residents urged city officials to investigate a proposed Infra Key data center they say would be sited in the middle of a neighborhood and could carry a large ongoing water demand.
Carla Garcia told the council that “Infra Key data center will require 15 to 16,000,000 gallons of water daily due to water loss to evaporation,” and said residents have not had adequate transparency on the project. Mayor and council members invited public comment and said staff would review materials and follow up.
Why it matters: neighbors said the project could strain water supplies in a city that has experienced mandatory rationing and asserted the site choice would bring noise, air and visual impacts to long‑standing families. The concerns raised could affect city permitting, water agreements with regional suppliers and neighborhood quality of life.
Speakers and evidence: Carla Garcia (2789 Ross Road) said the data center would “be placed in the middle of a neighborhood” and compared siting it near homes to placing an industrial plant on a community recreation site. Mark Dawson (1945 Fort Graham Road) said the rapid growth of data centers in Texas demands caution, adding, “we don't really know the repercussions, the long term impact of these data centers.” Sarah Leonard, representing a grassroots residents’ group, presented open‑records materials and said the project’s documents contain inconsistent water figures: a company executive text noting “5,000,000 gallons per day per phase” with four phases (which she calculates as 20,000,000 gallons per day at build‑out), an MOU she says shows 15–16,000,000 gallons per day, and a questionnaire noting a 2,000,000‑gallon peak demand.
What the council said: the presiding official reminded speakers that staff will accept handouts and follow up on concerns. The meeting record shows the council did not take an immediate action on the data‑center proposal during the session; public comments were heard and the council closed the hearing of visitors after the three presentations.
Outstanding questions and next steps: residents asked the council to reconcile the differing water figures and to disclose what water sources or agreements Infra Key would rely on. The council indicated staff would review the materials and follow up with the speakers and the body; no formal vote or direction regarding approvals was recorded at the meeting.
