Residents of an upscale Georgia subdivision first suspected something was wrong when their water pressure began dropping unexpectedly last year. The investigation their complaints prompted revealed the startling truth about a gigantic data center built near their homes.
Politico reports that a massive data center campus near Atlanta consumed nearly 30 million gallons of water without initially paying for it, a discovery that has intensified local opposition to the growing industry amid severe drought conditions across the state.
The situation came to light after homeowners in Annelise Park, an affluent neighborhood in Fayetteville, Georgia, began experiencing unusually weak water pressure. When Fayette County utility officials investigated the complaints, they uncovered two industrial-scale water connections serving a data center campus located about 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta. One connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, while the other was not tied to the company’s billing account.
The facility’s developer, Quality Technology Services, had used almost 30 million gallons of unaccounted-for water, equivalent to 44 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This volume substantially exceeded the peak usage limit established during the data center’s approval process. The Fayette County water system detailed the charges in a May 15, 2025 letter to QTS, demanding $147,474 in retroactive payments.
The exact duration of the unbilled consumption remains disputed. Vanessa Tigert, director of the Fayette County water system, estimated the period at approximately four months when questioned this week. However, a QTS spokesperson offered a significantly longer timeframe of nine to fifteen months. The company has since paid all retroactive charges, attributing the unmetered usage to the county’s transition to smart meter technology.
Tigert characterized the problem as a procedural error compounded by the county’s limited experience with large commercial customers. “Fayette County is a suburb, it’s mostly residential, and we don’t have much commercial meters in our system anyway,” she explained. “And so we didn’t realize our connection point wasn’t working.” She also noted that her department is severely understaffed, with a single employee handling inspections and plan reviews.
The incident gained public attention only recently, after county resident James Clifton obtained the 2025 letter through a public records request and shared it on social media. Clifton, an attorney and property rights advocate currently running for the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, said frustration with data centers had already been mounting before the water issue surfaced.
“We get this notification from Fayette County water system saying you need to stop watering your lawns to help conserve water,” Clifton said. “So the first thing they do is lean on the individuals and the citizens to stop water consumption when we have QTS that’s just absolutely draining us — most months it’s the No. 1 consumer of water in the county.”
The Fayetteville campus ranks among the largest data center developments in the United States, spanning 615 acres with eventual plans for up to 16 buildings. Currently partially operational, the facility promises substantial tax revenue for the county. Nevertheless, its enormous resource demands have fueled growing resistance to additional data center projects. Last month, the Fayetteville City Council approved a ban on new data centers across all city zoning districts.
Georgia hosts more than 200 data center facilities, and their water consumption has become increasingly contentious as the state grapples with widespread drought. Governor Brian Kemp (R) declared a state of emergency last month following one of Georgia’s most severe wildfire outbreaks in recent years, with moderate to high drought levels affecting the entire state.
QTS, which is owned by private equity firm Blackstone, rejected accusations of excessive water use. The company emphasized that its facilities employ a “closed-loop” cooling system that does not consume water for temperature regulation. It attributed last year’s elevated consumption to temporary construction activities including concrete work, dust suppression, and site preparation. Once fully operational, QTS stated, the data centers will require water only for domestic purposes such as restrooms and kitchens, roughly equivalent to four typical American households monthly. Full completion of the campus remains three to five years away.
Tigert acknowledged that her staff may have known about the hookups, though she could not locate relevant inspection records. “I may have ‘hit send’ too soon,” she said regarding her 2025 letter to QTS. Despite the unapproved water consumption, the utility declined to impose penalties or fines beyond the higher construction rate already charged.
That leniency has drawn criticism from residents and water policy experts alike. Gregory Pierce, director of the UCLA Water Resources Group, found the absence of fines notable. “I don’t know exactly what’s happening here, but they probably don’t want to upset one of their new and largest customers,” said Pierce, who is researching data centers’ expanding influence on municipal water systems.
Tigert defended the decision, citing the need for cooperative relations with the county’s biggest water consumer. “They’re our largest customer, and we have to be partners,” she said. “It’s called customer service.”
Silicon Valley’s relentless growth into middle America to build AI data centers brings with it serious side effects for their unsuspecting neighbors as well as intense pressure on state and local governments. Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall has written his instant bestseller Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI to serve as the definitive guide on how the MAGA movement can create positions on AI that benefit humanity without handing control of our nation to the leftists of Silicon Valley or allowing the Chinese to take over the world.
Read more at Politico here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.