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Applicant says closed‑loop cooling will limit routine water use to about 1,700–52,000 gpd for Phase 2; commissioners press for disposal and source details
Summary
Applicant engineers and environmental consultants told the commission Project Tango’s data processing buildings would use a closed‑loop cooling system filled initially with about 650,000 gallons but draw only modest daily potable water (approximately 1,696 gpd for the data buildings; the combined project with approved uses totals about 100,000 gpd). Experts said Florida DEQ and Palm Beach County Water Utilities would govern disposal and concurrency.
At the technical portion of the Palm Beach County hearing on Project Tango, a team of engineers told commissioners the proposed Phase 2 data and information‑processing buildings would use closed‑loop cooling rather than evaporative cooling towers, cutting routine potable water consumption.
James Ritchie, a civil engineer with WGI, said the estimated daily demand tied to human welfare facilities for the Phase 2 data allocation is about 1,696 gallons per day, and that when combined with already‑approved site uses the total water demand on the development order would be roughly 100,000 gallons per day. "We've coordinated the needs with Palm Beach County Water," Ritchie said, adding that the county review found available capacity and that a county concurrency letter would document coordination.
Applicants and engineers explained that the closed‑loop cooling system is filled and commissioned once and circulates internally; the team estimated the initial fill at roughly 650,000 gallons. Asked how that initial volume would be managed if drained for replacement or repairs, the applicant brought forward an environmental health consultant, Dr. Chris Olsen, who said Florida DEQ rules determine acceptable disposal pathways for glycol‑containing or other non‑routine waste. "Florida DEQ has restrictions on how that water would be disposed of," Dr. Olsen said, adding that the drained liquid would be taken off‑site to permitted processors and would not be discharged to the public sewer without required approvals.
Commissioners pressed for examples of where the closed‑loop approach is currently in operation; applicant witnesses pointed to multiple U.S. examples and corporate statements from large operators moving away from evaporative cooling. "There are hundreds of data centers within the U.S. that are adopting closed‑loop cooling systems," Fergus Davidson, project director and mechanical engineer, said.
Commissioners continued to press for engineering details, maintenance expectations for the filled loop and how contaminated fluid would be tested and handled; the applicant said a separate expert could provide the most technical details and reiterated that county permitting and DEQ rules would govern disposal.
