Water Usage: A 200 MW Data Center in Hildebran
How much water will this facility actually use?
The short answer: the real number depends on details the developer has not publicly disclosed.
A 200 MW data center in the North Carolina foothills may consume water across multiple systems, even if the developer describes the design as “closed-loop.”
Where the Water Goes
Evaporative Trim Cooling / Adiabatic Assist
Many “closed-loop” data centers are not fully waterless. When outdoor temperatures rise, dry coolers may lose efficiency. Facilities may then use adiabatic pre-cooling or evaporative trim cooling to lower intake air temperatures before heat rejection.
In hot, humid summer conditions, these systems may need more water to achieve the same cooling effect.
Humidity Control
Data centers maintain indoor humidity within a controlled range to protect electronic equipment from static discharge and condensation.
Humidification and dehumidification systems can require additional water, especially across seasonal swings.
Loop Maintenance and Flushing
Closed-loop water systems still require maintenance. Corrosion inhibitors break down, biological growth can occur, and dissolved solids can increase over time.
Every few years, loop water may need to be drained, treated, replaced, or disposed of. For a large facility, that could involve substantial volumes of chemically treated water.
Facility Operations
Additional water may be used for filter cleaning, coil washing, equipment maintenance, and general operations.
Why a Reliable Estimate Is Not Yet Possible
A defensible annual water-use estimate cannot be calculated from the facility’s proposed electrical capacity alone.
Actual consumption depends on information that has not yet been publicly documented, including:
- Cooling-system design
- Amount of evaporative or adiabatic assistance
- Server utilization and operating load
- Local temperature and humidity
- Water Usage Effectiveness, or WUE
- Hours spent operating in each cooling mode
- Maintenance, flushing, and refill requirements
- Whether future phases use the same cooling technology
Dry cooling can substantially reduce direct water consumption, while cooling towers and systems using evaporative assistance may consume more water under hot conditions.
Until project-specific engineering information is available, publishing a single annual total would create a false sense of certainty.
The developer should provide:
- Expected average daily water use
- Maximum daily water use
- Estimated annual consumption
- Cooling-mode assumptions
- Water use during extreme heat
- Water use during drought restrictions
- Full-buildout estimates for every proposed phase
The Source: Surface Water
Surface water — sourced from rivers, lakes, and streams like the Catawba River and its tributaries — is inherently more vulnerable to contamination than deep groundwater aquifers.
Surface water is exposed to everything that drains into the watershed, including:
- Agricultural runoff: pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste
- Industrial discharge: upstream manufacturing and industrial effluent
- Stormwater: flooding or heavy rain that can flush sediment, bacteria, and concentrated pollutants into the supply
Questions Hildebran Needs Answered
- What is the projected annual water consumption?
- What is the peak daily water demand in gallons?
- What is the water source?
- Will water come from municipal supply, wells, surface withdrawal, or another source?
- During drought or mandatory restrictions, does the facility keep operating at full capacity?
- Has water consumption been modeled using actual Hildebran weather data?
- Has the developer modeled the hottest and driest recent year, not just average conditions?
- What is the total water footprint, including power generation?
What We Are Asking For
The developer should publicly disclose:
- Cooling-system design
- Peak daily water demand
- Annual water-use estimate
- Drought-condition operating plan
- Source-water plan
- Wastewater and discharge plan
- Independent review of water assumptions
Communities should not be asked to approve industrial-scale water demand based on vague assurances.