Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sunnyvale's recycled-water and wastewater plans may not cover AI data-center demand, presenter says
Summary
An expert told the Sustainability Commission that Sunnyvale's recycled-water system (about 1,000,000 gallons/day) and its wastewater upgrade plan (34 projects, $1.4 billion) were not planned with AI data-center discharges in mind and should be re-evaluated before permitting new facilities.
At the July 20 meeting, Meshika Allgood told commissioners Sunnyvale ‘‘has not planned for the significant capacity increases’’ AI data centers would require for evaporative cooling. She said the city's recycled-water system currently supplies about 1,000,000 gallons per day and supports more than 100 services, including Moffett Field and the Apple campus, and that planning projections do not account for large commercial data-center use.
"AI data centers require hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons of water a day during the hottest months of the year," Allgood said, adding that about 80% of that water is lost to evaporation and the remaining discharge places added burden on wastewater treatment plants.
Allgood also noted the Sunnyvale Clean Water program comprises 34 long-term projects with an overall stated cost of $1,400,000,000 and said the city would need to revisit that project list and add work to handle AI-related discharges and treatment requirements.
Commission comments: Commissioners asked staff whether recycled-water production could be scaled and if community-benefit agreements or legislative approaches could require developers to supply or pay for needed capacity. No binding decision was made; commissioners discussed referring the issue to a council-priority process for possible policy action.
