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Residents warn data centers could strain water and emergency response resources
Summary
Multiple residents raised concerns about water use for cooling, potential lithium-battery fire risks and limits in local firefighting capacity; speakers urged setbacks from schools and hospitals and asked the council to require on-site energy generation where feasible.
Speakers at the work session repeatedly raised water supply, thermal discharge and emergency response as central concerns if large data centers locate in the region. A resident urged the council to adopt minimum-distance ordinances for schools, hospitals and farms and to require that data centers build or guarantee their own energy sources rather than rely on public infrastructure: “you can pass ordinance that restrict minimum distances from schools, hospitals, businesses, farms, everything,” she said.
Nicole Desiderio, who attends meetings in Pulaski County, told the council that she had been told at earlier meetings that consumers would not pay for data-center costs, but said she had seen repeated rate increases and feared insufficient local fire-department staffing and equipment to respond to lithium-battery fires. Councilmembers and the mayor acknowledged the concerns and said the ad hoc committee should examine water sourcing, fire response capacity and required setbacks.
