Georgia data center drains 30 MILLION gallons of water leaving residents high and dry

A large data center project in Fayetteville, Georgia, used more than 29 million gallons of water before county officials determined the company had not been properly billed, according to local records. The issue involves a 6.6 million-square-foot data center campus under development by Quality Technology Services (QTS), a developer owned by Blackstone.

Residents in Fayetteville, a city of roughly 20,000 people, had reported weak water pressure in 2025, particularly in the Annelise Park neighborhood. A county review later found the nearby QTS project was connected to two industrial-scale water hookups that were not correctly tied to billing systems, according to the New York Post.

According to a May 15, 2025, letter from the Fayette County water system to QTS, one connection had been installed without notifying the local utility, while the second was not linked to the company’s account. As a result, neither connection was billed initially.

The county later calculated that QTS owed nearly $150,000 in retroactive charges tied to more than 29 million gallons of water usage. QTS told media outlets it paid the full amount after being notified by county officials.

County officials said the billing problem occurred during a transition to smart meters and a new cloud-based tracking system. The utility said the data center’s meters are now fully integrated into its billing platform.

The issue drew more attention as Georgia remained under drought conditions following a state of emergency declaration from Brian Kemp. At the same time, Fayette County residents were encouraged to reduce lawn watering and conserve water.

Attorney James Clifton, who is running for a seat on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners, obtained the county letter and posted it publicly. He later shared an image appearing to show sprinklers operating at the QTS site.

“We get this notification from Fayette County water system saying you need to stop watering your lawns to help conserve water,” Clifton told Politico.

“So the first thing they do is lean on the individuals and the citizens to stop water consumption when we have QTS that’s just absolutely draining us – most months it’s the No. 1 consumer of water in the county,” he added.

County officials have defended the project, saying it is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars annually in property tax revenue. Vanessa Tigert, director of the Fayette County water system, said the county did not impose a fine on the company.

Tigert said that QTS is “our largest customer, and we have to be partners. It’s called customer service.” She also cited staffing shortages within the utility department. “Just like any water system, we don’t have enough staff. We can’t keep staff,” she told Politico. “I’ve got one person that’s doing inspections and plan review, and so he’s spread pretty thin.”