A data center in Georgia developed by QTS used nearly 30 million gallons of water (around 114.000.000 liters) through two unrecorded connections before residents complained about low water pressure and the county utility discovered the problem.
“In total, the manufacturer, Quality Technology Services, owes nearly $150.000 for using more than 29 million gallons of unaccounted water,” reports Politico“This is equivalent to 44 Olympic-sized swimming pools and far exceeds the peak limit agreed upon during the data center design process.”
The details were revealed in a May 15, 2025, letter from the Fayette County Water System to Quality Technology Services, which outlined the $147.474 retroactive charge.
The letter did not specify how many months the unpaid bill covered, but when asked about it Wednesday, Vanessa Tigert, director of the Fayette County water system, said it was probably about four months.
A QTS spokesperson said the timeframe was 9-15 months. Once the data center was notified, it paid all retroactive charges, a QTS spokesperson said in an email, noting that the unmetered water consumption occurred while the county was converting its system to smart meters.
Fayette County Water System confirmed that the data center meters are now fully integrated and monitored.
Tigert, the water system's director, attributed the problem to a procedural issue.
“Fayette County is suburban, it’s mostly residential, and we don’t have a lot of commercial meters on our system anyway. And so we didn’t realize that our connection point wasn’t working.”
The incident became public last week when a county resident got his hands on the 2025 letter to QTS through a petition and posted it on Facebook, sparking outrage from residents concerned about the data center's water consumption.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
