Georgia data center drained 30 million gallons of water — and didn't pay for it

An investigation reveals the center, set to be one of the largest in the country and where residents have been put on water conservation restrictions, owes nearly $150,000.

1 minute read

May 14, 2026, 7:00 AM PDT

By Christine McLaren


Next time your water pressure is unusually low, double check it hasn't been guzzled by a nearby data center shirking its duties. That's what happened to residents of a subdivision in Fayetteville, Georgia, where county officials discovered "two industrial-scale water hookups" serving a nearby Quality Technology Services data center campus.

"Officials reportedly determined one hookup had been connected without notice to the water utility, and the other, which had been left off the QTS company account, was not being billed," reports Yahoo! News. "In a 2025 letter to QTS, the county said the company owed $147,474 for more than 29 million gallons of water. According to Politico, the utility director estimated roughly four months of unpaid use, while QTS put the span at about nine to 15 months."

The site spans 615 acres and is set to expand to up to 16 buildings, making it one of the largest U.S. data center projects.

Read the full story below. 

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 in Yahoo! News

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