48 Investigates: Proposed Tennessee data center causing concern 30 miles downstream

KILLEN, Ala. (WAFF) - A proposed data center in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, is raising concerns among environmental advocates who say water quality issues could affect communities 30 miles downstream in North Alabama.

Shoal Creek, which empties into the Tennessee River, runs through Lawrenceburg. Environmental advocates say if the water on the Lawrenceburg end of the creek is affected, those problems may trickle down to North Alabama.

David Whiteside, founder of the Tennessee Riverkeeper nonprofit, has dedicated his life to keeping the Tennessee River and surrounding tributaries clean.

“We all need clean water we all drink water. Water is absolutely vital to all life,” Whiteside said.

Residents in Lawrenceburg are fighting the proposed data center. Within days, an online petition gained thousands of signatures, according to a report from our Nashville sister station.

“All across the nation, when you look at everything involved with data centers, the power consumption, and especially in small towns like this, the power consumption goes way up, the water consumption,” a community member said.

Data centers use water to keep the computers inside from overheating. The Lawrenceburg mayor told a sister station this data center would use between 10,000 and 15,000 gallons of water per day.

“We’re all interconnected whether we’re upstream or downstream from our neighbor,” Whiteside said. “What’s happening in Lawrenceburg could impact your water usage or your electrical rates in other areas.”

Some data centers use more water than others. One system constantly cycles water in and out, while city leaders say this system is a closed loop. Once the water goes in it generally stays in, but in some cases during maintenance or accidental spillage, the water goes right back to where it came from.

“Any time you’re using a lot of water from the river or the creek, and releasing it back into the waterway at a higher temperature, that’s going to cause a lot of problems for fish and increase eutrophication or algae levels, especially in the summer when algae levels are up, it’s going to cause all sorts of problems for that waterway,” Whiteside said.

Shoal Creek has been on Tennessee Riverkeeper’s radar for years. Whiteside says that with a new data center, more problems could trickle downstream.

“The river itself is only as clean as the tributaries,” Whiteside said.