The proponent of building at least one data center on Tucson’s far southeast side is negotiating with Tucson Water to have an 18-mile pipeline built to carry reclaimed, treated sewage effluent to the project, two Pima County supervisors say.
A company negotiating with county officials would pay to build this line as a way to ensure the project doesn’t drain Tucson’s drinking water supply, said Supervisor Matt Heinz, whose district ends about a mile west of where the data center would be located.
“This would be consistent with the discussions they’ve had with Tucson Water, that water infrastructure will be gifted to the city to insure that they can run entirely on reclaimed water,” Heinz said Thursday.
So far, however, neither Tucson Water nor Pima County officials have answered questions from the Arizona Daily Star about how much water, reclaimed or otherwise, would be used by the project.
City of Tucson spokesman Andy Squire told the Star in an email Thursday afternoon he can’t respond to questions about the project’s water use because city officials are under a non-disclosure agreement about the project. “The fact that others are discussing it does not change that. We cannot address your questions,” Squire said.
One data center is currently being discussed, but a specific plan for the site filed by county officials shows the entire 290-acre project site eventually could contain as many as 10 data centers.
County Administrator Jan Lesher has said in a memo to county supervisors that county officials are negotiating with what she variously called a “client” or a “business prospect” that would build a data center. She has referred to the company with the code name of Project Blue and has declined to reveal the company’s name, citing a non-disclosure agreement that county officials signed with company officials.
In a May 8 memo, Lesher described Project Blue as a company that operates "in the advanced and emerging technology industry sector.”
Heinz and Supervisor Steve Christy said the reclaimed water pipeline was discussed in briefings their offices had separately with representatives of the project, including a financier. Also at the meeting Heinz attended were people who have experience in the technology sector, he said.
Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy
What isn’t known at this time is how long it will take to get the reclaimed water pipeline on line or whether the data center would have to run on potable water at first until the reclaimed facilities are available.
“They did not go into any kind of detail. They were going to be making sure that any water usage, any water supply included in the project was in a responsible manner that would not only suit their needs, but what they think would be in the best interest of the community,” said Christy, whose district includes the project site.
Christy said representatives of the lender and construction company committed to pay for the reclaimed water line to be built.
Heinz said, “There will be phasing in of reclaimed, possibly; initially there could be some use of potable water. That’s not a goal, it’s not going to be a long-time situation. One of the first things they say they’ll do is work on an 18-mile reclaimed pipeline, two inches in diameter.”
The site lies along the north side of Brekke Road between Houghton and Harrison roads, just north of the county fairgrounds.
Data centers use large amounts of electricity and, potentially, water. By some estimates, the Associated Press has reported, a mid-sized data center uses the same amount of water per day as 1,000 households.
A May 21 memo from Lesher said Project Blue would generate about 180 new, long-term jobs once construction is completed, with salaries averaging about $64,000 annually, resulting in an “annual economic impact” of about $63.5 million and about $7.3 million in “annual labor income.”
The site is currently owned by Pima County. County supervisors are expected to have a purchase-sales agreement presented to them as early as their June 17 meeting, or at a board meeting in July.
If the agreement is approved, the county would sell the land, appraised at $20.875 million, to the company. Once the land is sold, it would be annexed by the city.
