Water and power reliability emerge as central concerns in Southampton County data‑center debate

Commissioners raised infrastructure constraints as a central reason to proceed cautiously on data‑center applications: water availability, utility connections and the source of onsite power.

One member described local water management steps elsewhere and quantified the scale of the issue: "We're actually putting water back into the, Potomac Aquifer. We have 3 places in Virginia that are putting 1,000,000 gallons a day of treated water back into the aquifer because we've taken out so much." That commissioner said water studies and utility coordination typically add years to a project timeline.

On power, another commissioner noted tradeoffs between technologies: small modular nuclear reactors can provide continuous baseload power, while gas turbine generators are often cheaper and more efficient for variable load. "Nuclear power is really good at turning it on and generating this much power continuously. It's not good at everybody turn the air conditioner on and everybody turn it off," the commissioner said; the same speaker added gas turbines are "way more efficient and way cheaper."

Commission members said these infrastructure issues — who pays for upgrades, potential impacts on electric rates and the county's limited water supply — will be key in shaping ordinance provisions and any conditional‑use approvals.