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Residents urge caution on potential data centers, citing water and power concerns
Summary
Two residents urged Opelika leaders to scrutinize rumored data-center proposals, warning about water and power use in drought-prone areas and urging proactive zoning; one speaker cited a Guardian analysis and a Bessemer example claiming a proposed site could use about 2 million gallons of water per day.
Two members of the public used the council's comment period on June 16 to urge Opelika leaders to proceed cautiously regarding rumored data centers.
Harold Whatley (1104 S. Walker Road) told council he wants leaders to "weigh out the decisions" about bringing data centers to the area, warning against accepting what he characterized as "quick money" at the expense of long-term community health, downtown revitalization and family amenities. "I'm looking to y'all to make the right decisions about this data center," he said.
Sue Ellen Talicson (910 Davis Street) cited a recent Guardian report and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mapping, saying reporters found two-thirds of planned U.S. data centers are sited in areas already experiencing drought stress. She warned that some permit applications undercount total water use by omitting the water embedded in power production and said investigations have found underestimates of water usage "by up to 60%" in some cases. Talicson referenced a recently contested proposal in Bessemer that she said would have required about 2 million gallons of water per day, and urged Opelika to adopt zoning and other protections before such developments proceed. "We just cannot drink data," she said.
Council did not take immediate action on zoning for data centers during the meeting; the transcript shows a separate rezoning matter on the agenda (an 18.34-acre amendment on Birmingham Highway) but the council did not discuss data-center permits or applications in detail during the session. Speakers asked that staff and council be proactive in considering zoning, water, and power impacts as any proposals arise.
Next steps: residents urged council to study zoning protections and utilities impacts; the council has not scheduled a substantive policy response on data centers in this meeting.
