Water is the lifeblood of West Des Moines and its surrounding suburbs. It fuels our economy, sustains our farms and supports the high quality of life and growth we enjoy in our communities. As a longtime resident of Waukee, I see how our community evolves and welcomes new industries, so it’s important that we understand how these developments affect local resources. However, these discussions must remain rooted in facts and hard data instead of fear and speculation.
Lately, I’ve heard our neighbors express concern that data centers might deplete our water supply or drive up utility costs. Water conservation is always a serious matter, but the actual numbers tell a very different story. According to West Des Moines Water Works, data centers account for only 2% to 7% of the city’s water usage. In fact, data centers do not even rank among the top three water users in our community, and they use 40 times less than the water used by the nation’s golf courses.
It’s also important to note that not all data centers are built the same. There are key differences that depend on where campuses are built and whether a facility is water cooled or air cooled. Some major data centers have water-positive ambitions to return more water to communities than they use, and they’re leading innovation in water efficiency and stewardship by piloting new designs that use zero water for cooling…