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Caroline supervisors adopt utility fee changes and ban on potable water for permanent data‑center cooling
Summary
After a public hearing the board adopted multiple amendments to county utility rules: new fire protection availability fees, higher bulk‑water and reserve charges, a revised plan‑review fee, and a new code section prohibiting use of county potable water for permanent industrial cooling (e.g., data centers). Conservation groups supported the potable‑use restriction.
The Caroline County Board of Supervisors voted March 10 to adopt a package of amendments to the county's utility code that update fees, improve billing procedures and explicitly prohibit use of county potable water for permanent industrial cooling.
County staff presented proposed changes that included: reinstating an availability fee for private fire‑suppression connections calculated by meter size; revising bulk‑water application and per‑thousand fees; increasing the Caroline Pines capital reserve fee with modest annual escalators through 2029; codifying a $50 returned‑check fee; and replacing a cost‑plus inspection billing method with a flat plan‑review fee equal to 3% of estimated construction costs.
The board also considered and, after dispensing with a procedural first‑reading step for one section, adopted an amendment to chapter 112 that expressly states that "public potable water shall not be used by data centers or similar facilities for permanent cooling purposes." Staff and several speakers from conservation and watershed organizations supported the restriction during the public hearing, saying it helps protect local water supplies as development pressures grow.
Brent Puninger of Friends of the Rappahannock, Pat Calbert of American Rivers and Lesan Hammond of the York River Steward all urged the board to adopt the prohibition. "Now that the county has a permit to withdraw water from the Rappahannock River, we are glad to see efforts to be wise stewards of that water," Puninger said.
Board action: The board first voted to forgo the first reading on the chapter 112 amendment and then approved the full package (items 1–5 in the utility fee schedule and the chapter 112 changes) by voice vote.
Why it matters: The amendments change cost and permitting structures for users of county water services and give county staff specific authority to control high‑volume uses that could otherwise strain the system. The potable‑use prohibition makes it explicit that the county will not supply continuous cooling water for industrial uses locally—though emergency or temporary uses may be authorized by staff in limited circumstances.
What they said: "This provision prohibits the use of the county's potable water system as a continuous cooling source," county staff said in the presentation. Conservation groups supported the change at the hearing.
— Reporting from the March 10, 2026 Caroline County Board of Supervisors meeting.
