One of the biggest concerns surrounding Google’s massive Franklin Furnace data center has been how much water the facility might need. Now, Scioto County commissioners say the company is considering a major change that could dramatically reduce that demand.
Instead of building the water and wastewater treatment facilities originally discussed for the site, Google is now looking at fully air-cooling the data center.
That could mean the campus would need relatively little water beyond what employees use for sinks, toilets and other ordinary building needs.
Commissioner Scottie Powell shared the development during Thursday’s Scioto County Commissioners meeting as officials considered an agreement covering wastewater planning expenses.
“The technology and the engineering of this thing has changed so fast that now they are looking at fully air cooling this site,” Powell said.
The change is still being evaluated, according to Powell’s description, but it could significantly alter the project’s impact on local water and sewer infrastructure.
A Big Change From the Original Plans
When the data center project was first being discussed, Powell said Google was considering building its own water treatment plant and possibly a wastewater treatment plant on the property.
Those facilities would have addressed the water demands and wastewater generated by the campus.
But as the project has moved forward, the cooling technology under consideration has changed.
Data centers generate enormous amounts of heat because thousands of servers and other electronic systems operate around the clock.
Some facilities use water-based cooling systems to help remove that heat, while air-cooled designs rely more heavily on air and mechanical cooling equipment.
Powell said Google is now exploring the latter approach.
“So very little water other than what they would use for employees’ sinks and toilets, which means they won’t need a wastewater treatment plant,” he explained.
That doesn’t mean the facility would use no water. It means the amount needed for cooling could be substantially reduced if the fully air-cooled design is adopted.
The commissioners did not provide a revised estimate of the campus’s total water consumption.
Google Paying for Sewer Capacity Study
The cooling discussion came up as commissioners unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding involving Tilted Gate, the property entity associated with Google’s data center project.
The agreement concerns reimbursement for work evaluating the capacity of the county’s wastewater system.
Powell said Google has consistently maintained that it would pay for the costs its project imposes on public infrastructure.
“They have always said they would pay their way for anything that impacts public infrastructure,” he said.
According to Powell, the county and project representatives have already held meetings, developed criteria and consulted with Ohio EPA about wastewater needs.
So far, those efforts have incurred $255,814.53 in expenses, which Powell said Google is paying.
The work is intended to determine whether the existing sewer system can accommodate the wastewater generated by the data center if the new cooling approach moves forward.
Could Wheelersburg’s Sewer System Need Upgrades?
Commissioner Merit Smith said the current work is essentially a study of the system’s capacity and what improvements might be necessary.
“I think Strand is doing the study to put together the ideas as to how much we would need to have to upgrade that system in Wheelersburg,” Smith said.
The county’s sanitary engineer is working with the project team to evaluate those needs.
Once the study is complete, officials expect to have a clearer picture of whether upgrades are necessary and what they would cost.
Smith said the county would then consider another memorandum of understanding addressing Google’s responsibility for paying for any needed improvements.
“Once the study is done, we’ll go on and say this is what we need to do and then have another MOU as what they would have to pay to upgrade,” he said.
In other words, Thursday’s vote did not approve a sewer expansion project or establish its cost.
It approved an agreement covering the planning and evaluation work already underway.
What Does This Mean for Water Concerns?
The possibility of fully air-cooling the data center is significant because water use has been one of the major questions surrounding large data center developments.
Cooling technology can make a substantial difference in how much water a facility consumes.
If Google proceeds with the air-cooled approach described by Powell, the company may avoid the need for a dedicated wastewater treatment plant at the Franklin Furnace campus.
However, commissioners did not announce that a final cooling design has been selected, nor did they provide projected daily water usage figures.
There are also questions about whether the existing public sewer system will need improvements to handle even the reduced wastewater flow.
Those questions are what the ongoing capacity study is intended to answer.
For now, the commissioners say Google is covering the cost of evaluating the impact on public infrastructure, and the county is working with the company to determine what, if anything, needs to be upgraded.
The most important development for nearby residents may be that the project’s water demands could look very different from what was originally anticipated.
