Records raise questions about Georgia’s largest data center and its water use

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - Complaints about low water pressure near Georgia’s largest data center − owned by the same company that’s building one in Augusta − led a Georgia county to discover two unauthorized water lines leading into the facility and a bill to the company for $147,000.

But now, Fayette County is walking back accusations the water lines were installed without officials’ knowledge.

The QTS facility sits on a 600-acre site in Fayetteville, 22 miles south of downtown Atlanta. Fayette County’s water system director sent a letter to QTS after a neighbor complained about low water pressure in May 2025. The internal letter said the investigation found two additional water lines “installed without the knowledge or inspection by (county) staff.”

Fayette County has since walked back the letter’s implications, releasing a public statement saying, “We want to share the facts and correct some misinformation… Our letter was unclear, which caused misunderstandings about how much water QTS is allowed to use.” The county attributed the discrepancy to a “smart meter” technology upgrade that left some QTS meters off the new billing system.

The county declined an interview. QTS also declined an interview, saying it did not use water improperly or without paying for it. No criminal wrongdoing has been alleged.

QTS is the same company that’s building a data center off Gordon Highway near the Haynes Station neighborhood in west Augusta.

Many neighbors have been fighting it, saying they weren’t informed and had been left out of the process.

A data center was planned before many of the homes were built, and some neighbors question why the city allowed the homes’ construction when officials knew a data center was going to be built.

Water use during construction

An Atlanta News First Investigates analysis of Fayette County billing records showed QTS has used at least the equivalent of 11 Georgia Aquariums’ worth of water since the first water meter came online in February 2024.

Since then, that single water line was billed for 20.6 million gallons of water. QTS now uses 13 water lines as the site expands. Across all 13 lines, the county billed QTS for 109 million gallons of water.

QTS said the water use is for dust control, concrete work, and site preparation. The company said once the site is fully operational, it will use only the equivalent of four American households — approximately 9,000 to 12,000 gallons per month — through a closed-loop system that continuously recirculates water. That system is not expected to be in place until construction is complete in 2030.

Fayette County said QTS uses less than one percent of the county’s monthly water supply.

Community pushback

Georgia has at least 160 data center sites statewide: 34 operating and 124 planned, according to data from Cleanview, a market intelligence company tracking U.S. power infrastructure and data center development using sources such as permit documents and satellite imagery.

Willard Neal, 87, lives near the QTS facility and said the experience has not been what he expected in retirement, calling living next to a data center “terrible.”

Neal cited tree clearing, ongoing construction, constant humming noises, and the water issue as concerns. “If my daughter down here tapped into that big pipeline down the road without putting a meter on it, she’d be in jail,” Neal said. “A data center is not going to jail.”

Local resident Jesse Brooks said the issue of data centers is “almost the only thing anyone in Fayetteville talks about.”

Brooks and other neighbors brought their opposition to a county commission meeting after learning of a second proposed data center in Fayetteville. County leaders ultimately denied that permit.

“These giant things don’t need to be in anyone’s backyard,” Brooks said. “We have a lot of creeks and a lot of rivers in Fayetteville and a lot of wetlands and wildlife, so there’s a lot that we’re trying to protect.”

Researcher: Scale matters

Georgia Institute of Technology researcher and professor Ahmed Saeed said the water figures alone do not alarm him.

Saeed noted many major corporate farmlands and other industries use similar amounts of water. He said data centers face a tradeoff between water and power consumption. Because Georgia has one of the nation’s largest and newest nuclear power plants, new data centers here tend to rely more on using power than water.

“If you have a community with one data center, maybe two such big ones, it’s not going to have a huge impact ... but once you have tens of such data centers coming up, then the water consumption becomes a problem,” Saeed said.

Saeed said computer chips — the hardware that powers modern technology and artificial intelligence — generate heat that must be managed either through electricity or water, depending on the local environment.

“If you’re too concerned with power, then you might have to use a little bit more water,” he said. “If you’re too concerned about water, you’re going to have to consume a little bit more power.”

QTS responds

“QTS is proud to provide the digital infrastructure critical to the future of our country and economy. QTS has a strong and growing presence in Georgia, including operating campuses in Atlanta and Suwanee and continued development in Fayetteville.

“QTS is the global leader in water-free cooling. Our data centers are built with a closed-loop cooling system that does not consume water for cooling, once operational. This innovative cooling technology saves millions of gallons of water annually per megawatt compared to traditional evaporative cooling methods, improving water conservation in our communities.

“Water use at the Fayetteville site reflects the different stages of development. During active construction, water is used for standard activities such as concrete work, dust control and site preparation. This type of use is temporary and declines significantly as buildings are completed. Over the past year, average daily water use at the site has represented less than 1% of Fayette County Water’s current production.

“Once operational, QTS facilities use a closed‑loop cooling system that does not consume water for cooling. We only use water for domestic needs such as bathrooms and kitchens. For a typical QTS data center building, domestic water use is limited to basic building needs such as restrooms and employee kitchens, roughly equivalent to the monthly use of about four American households for a typical building.

“As demand for digital infrastructure grows, QTS remains focused on being a good neighbor and building lasting partnerships in every community we serve, including Fayetteville. We are committed to strengthening local economies, advancing sustainability, protecting residents’ energy rates and responsibly delivering the infrastructure that enables modern digital life.

• We pay for the energy costs of our data centers so they do not increase local utility bills.
• We build data centers that consume no water once operational.
• We create good jobs in communities in which we operate.
• We support local community projects.
• We lead with openness and transparency."