Mayor Dermody and Bert Cook defend Microsoft data center plans, emphasize water safeguards and jobs

La Porte officials and economic partners presented an overview of Microsoft’s data center project to the Sustainability Commission, stressing water protections, power‑system investments and community benefits while answering residents’ technical questions.

Bert Cook, executive director of the LaPorte Economic Advancement Partnership, told the commission that most modern data centers use closed‑loop cooling and that "the only water from the city of LaPorte that Microsoft uses is for their bathrooms, their kitchens, and their coffee makers," characterizing the campus as a small domestic water consumer. Cook said cooling systems are typically trucked in and, after a long reuse life, disposed of under EPA rules.

Why it matters: Water use and dewatering were the meeting’s dominant public concerns. Officials said the site’s water‑table conditions mean…