Cooling the Cloud/Considerations for Water Utilities Evaluating Data Center Development: American Water Works Association Issues Report
November 03, 2026
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The American Water Works Association (“AWWA”) issued a report titled:
… Cooling the Cloud: Considerations for Water Utilities Evaluating Data Center Development (“Report”).
AWWA describes the Report as:
…. a practical planning and decision-making framework for utilities, addressing present and future water supply reliability, recovery of growth-related costs, wastewater impacts and environmental considerations.
The Report is intended to assist utilities in:
- Screening proposed projects.
- Identifying information gaps.
- Evaluating utility capacity.
- Comparing infrastructure and water supply alternatives.
- Establishing development conditions.
- Preparing for negotiations with data center owners and developers.
Additional purposes include considerations involving:
- Utility reliability.
- Financial sustainability.
- Environmental stewardship.
- Regulatory obligations.
- Community expectations.
AWWA advises that data centers should be generally evaluated as large industrial customers requiring:
- Early engagement.
- Detailed engineering review.
- Transparent demand projections.
- Clearly assigned responsibilities.
Key components of the Report include:
- Data center classification and infrastructure demand.
- Cooling technologies: engineering characteristics and water demand.
- Water balance methodology and demand modeling.
- Water source and cooling water quality requirements.
- Wastewater characterization, pretreatment, and discharge control.
- Water reuse integration, minimum liquid discharge, and zero liquid discharge.
- Financial frameworks, rate structures, and cost recovery.
- Contractual provisions and development agreements.
- Regulatory framework and emerging policy.
- Community engagement and transparency.
- Utility questionnaire and response analysis.
A copy of the Report can be found here.
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