Data Center Developers Should Require Water Disclosure Standards, Expert Argues, as Community Opposition Mounts
A NYU real estate expert argues that data center projects unable to clearly disclose water sourcing and consumption in community-accessible terms should face approval denial, as water transparency emerges as a critical approval risk in markets including Arizona and Virginia.
Water disclosure has emerged as the decisive approval hurdle for US data center development, with projects from Arizona to Virginia encountering regulatory scrutiny and community opposition over insufficient transparency on local water impact. Suhail Y. Tayeb, clinical assistant professor at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate and director of the Center for Sustainable Built Environment, argues that projects unable to clearly disclose water source, expected consumption, and mitigation strategy in community-accessible terms should not receive approval.
The requirement extends beyond generalized national consumption estimates to site-specific quantification of freshwater draw, cooling architecture, and seasonal variability. Air-cooled systems rely primarily on electricity and minimize direct water use, while evaporative cooling systems can consume significant volumes during peak conditions. Closed-loop systems reduce freshwater demand but require careful sourcing and management. Projects in water-abundant regions with recycled supply access operate under different constraints than those in drought-prone areas drawing from municipal or groundwater sources, yet public filings rarely distinguish between these profiles.
Continue reading
3 more paragraphs for subscribers.
Free readers get a daily preview and the weekly long-form. Premium unlocks every brief in full, AM & PM editions, alerts, and the archive.