Meta data center water discharges suspended for contaminating water supply
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Meta data center discharge suspended after contaminating Cheyenne's reclaimed water with rare bacteria.
Cheyenne suspended discharges from Meta's data center construction after a contractor's closed-loop cooling system purge released Cupriavidus gilardii, a rare metal-resistant bacterium, into the city's reclaimed water supply. The system will be offline for months for cleaning. Meta is supporting general contractor Fortis, which stopped discharging and began hauling wastewater offsite. The bacterium poses a potential airborne hazard if used for irrigation.
What commenters are saying
Commenters split on whether this incident is about contamination or water use. Some argued data center water use is a separate topic from contamination, while others countered that discharge is part of water usage. A top comment noted the closed-loop system needed filling and flushing during installation, not continuous water use. Another highlighted that contractors are now hauling wastewater offsite, potentially just dumping it elsewhere. Several commenters criticized the externalization of costs and questioned how ordinary people benefit from Meta's data centers.