Virginia’s government released a comprehensive groundwater study addressing concerns about the sustainability of the state’s water supply in its eastern coastal plain region. The research, produced by environmental scientists and previously withheld for more than six months, concluded that groundwater availability in the area is constrained and projected to decline in the near future due to population growth and industrial consumption.
The state is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, which use significant quantities of water to cool their servers. The report noted limitations in publicly available information regarding data center water consumption but did not attribute blame to the industry for the identified aquifer concerns. However, the study suggested that current conditions make it unlikely a data center using evaporative cooling technology could secure sufficient groundwater supplies in the region. Most existing and planned data center capacity operates within public water supply service areas that primarily rely on surface water sources.
The report recommended multiple regulatory changes, including strengthened authority for regulators to reject industrial water withdrawal permits, requirements for applicants to examine alternative water sources before tapping groundwater, enhanced local water use planning, and increased funding for water management infrastructure and staff. It also suggested legislators clarify how regulators should balance drinking water protection for the public against current usage rights under existing law.
The delay in releasing the study had raised transparency concerns and attracted criticism from advocacy organizations and advisory committees. State officials attributed the delay to administrative backlog from the previous administration. The findings resonated particularly among local officials and lawmakers in Virginia’s coastal regions, where groundwater strain has prompted some municipalities to shift toward surface water sources. The groundwater management challenges faced by Virginia are similar to those emerging in other states including Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Georgia, and South Carolina as data center development accelerates nationwide.
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