버지니아 주 상원의원들이 지하수 고갈로 인해 신규 데이터센터 개발에 대한 즉각적인 주지사 검토 및 주 전역 모라토리움을 촉구했습니다.
Two Virginia state senators have sent a bipartisan letter urging Governor Abigail Spanberger to convene a special session focused on the state’s groundwater supply, citing “serious and immediate strain” partly driven by data center operations. The letter was authored by Republican Richard Stuart and Democrat Russet Perry following the release of a report by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The DEQ assessment projected the future impact of groundwater withdrawals from “newer industries such as data centers,” modeling scenarios based on “a withdrawal of three million gallons per day at the centroid of each ground-water budget region.”
According to the report, data centers possess the potential to “significantly impact groundwater resources, and it is essential to evaluate the historical, current, and potential future impacts of such activities on the Commonwealth’s groundwater supply.” Drawing on Fairfax County estimates, the analysis indicates that data centers consume approximately 90 to 100 gallons (341 to 379 liters) of water daily per 1,000 square feet (92 square meters). This translates to roughly three million gallons (13.6 million liters) per day for an IT load of around 1 gigawatt across 31.6 million square feet (2.93 million square meters). For context, the report notes that a typical hyperscale facility with 100 megawatts of capacity would require approximately 300,000 gallons (1.1 million liters) daily. Actual consumption varies based on design and operational factors; while older sites often rely on water-intensive evaporative cooling, many newer facilities utilize closed-loop recirculation systems or wastewater for cooling, including several projects in Virginia.
Stuart and Perry noted that legislators were unable to formally review the DEQ report because it was published after the conclusion of the current legislative session and the implementation of the state budget.
Meanwhile, calls for regulatory intervention are intensifying. Last week, Republican State Senator Glen Sturtevant urged Governor Spanberger to impose an immediate statewide moratorium on new data center developments. In a separate letter, Sturtevant explained that the rapid proliferation of proposals in Chesterfield County had brought the issue into “sharp focus” for his constituents, though he emphasized that the “consequences of Virginia’s data center expansion extend far beyond any single locality.”
Virginia currently stands as the largest data center market globally, hosting approximately 11 gigawatts of operational capacity and 200 facilities in Loudoun County alone. Referencing a report from the state’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Sturtevant highlighted that data center growth is the primary catalyst behind projections that Virginia’s electricity demand could double within a decade. “Virginia has no credible plan to meet the enormous new demand reliably and affordably,” he stated. “The question is no longer simply how to regulate more data centers. It is whether Virginia can accommodate data center development at all.”
Democratic State Senator Louise Lucas, who serves as president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, publicly endorsed Sturtevant’s position, asserting that the “status quo cannot continue.” She added that “a statewide moratorium is a serious proposal that deserves serious consideration.”