We know that data centers use a huge amount of water to cool their equipment, often millions of gallons of water a day, at a time when our groundwater resources are dwindling.
While the general impacts to water supply are broadly known, the industry hasn’t had to actually report its water use to state regulators. This legislation requires water suppliers to report how much water they are sending to data centers, giving Virginia DEQ better information to make informed decisions about our water resources.
HB496 and SB553 both ended up in conference, due to differing amendments placed on the bills by the House and Senate, some of which were much more favorable to the industry than to protecting our water supplies.
The House passed an updated, and improved version of HB496 on a vote of 78-19; the Senate passed SB553, which included the same updated language, by a 25-14 margin. The bills were signed into law, giving the Commonwealth a new tool to protect water supplies and hold the industry better accountable than the status quo.