As Data Centers Proliferate Across Illinois, Communities Grapple with How to Supply the Necessary Water

Computing facilities require lots of water to operate, putting the burden of allocating resources on municipalities.

“We are concerned about the planning of the explosion of data centers, and if these far-out suburbs are actually accounting for that,” said Iyana Simba, city government affairs director for the Illinois Environmental Council. “How much of that was taken into account when they did their initial planning to purchase water from the city of Chicago? This isn’t reused wastewater. This is drinking water.”

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