Company behind Cedar Rapids data center used nearly 30 million gallons of water in Georgia without initially paying

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — The company behind a data center project in Eastern Iowa is facing scrutiny in Georgia after a report found it used nearly 30 million gallons of water without initially paying for it.

A Politico report detailed how people living at a subdivision in Fayetteville, Georgia noticed their water pressure was unusually low. Investigators found two water hookups feeding a data center developed by QTS.

One of those connections was installed without the utility company knowing, and the other wasn’t linked to the company’s account so it wasn’t billed. Politico reported QTS owed nearly $150,000 for using more than 29 million gallons of water.

The company paid the retroactive charges but faced no additional fines. The county blamed a “procedural mix-up” for not realizing the water consumption issue.

The utility company defended its decision not to levy fines, saying, “They’re our largest customer and we have to be partners. It’s called customer service.”

“Any suggestion of improper water use by QTS is categorically false,” the company wrote in a statement. “A recent billing mistake meant that certain meters were improperly linked by Fayette County Water. Once flagged, the issue was corrected and all charges were paid. Once operational, the facility itself will operate with a closed loop cooling system that requires no net new water for cooling. Water use will be limited to employee needs such as bathrooms and staff kitchens and roughly comparable to about four American households annually.”

Georgia drought conditions

The incident comes as Georgia residents are being told to scale back their water usage. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows all of Georgia is in severe to exceptional drought. Those dry conditions have made brush fires in southern Georgia worse.

While QTS says it won’t use as much water past the construction phase, that won’t end for another three to five years.

Iowa violations

This isn’t the first time QTS has not followed regulations during construction. Last year in Iowa, state officials discovered 40 unpermitted wells at the company’s data center site in Cedar Rapids.

That site stretches into Fairfax, and city officials raised concerns about the wells’ impact on the water supply.

While the company maintains the wells are standard during construction, Linn County sought to fine the company $20,000. QTS says its investment in the Cedar Rapids development could be worth $10 billion.