… Recently, a data center under construction in Cheyenne, Wyoming, was found to have contaminated the sewer system with a rare bacterium. The water utility took swift action. The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities fined the project developer, revoked its wastewater permit and announced that it would not accept certain types of wastewater from data centers citywide. The developer of the project — which is backed by Meta — is appealing the $10,000 fine and disputes the utility’s conclusion tracing the bacterium to its project. But the incident highlights what engineers view as an emerging challenge for the data center industry that is already under scrutiny over its environmental footprint.

Other data center water use news:

• WyoFile (Cheyenne): Meta wants hearing, $10K fine refunded in data center water case
• WyoFile (Cheyenne): ‘White colonies’ of petri dish bacteria led to data center pollution fine
• Water World: AWS adds water withdrawal reporting to sustainability dashboard as data center water use comes under scrutiny