We have all seen the wave of data center proposals, which seem to be always increasing throughout our Commonwealth.  These facilities often consume substantial amounts of water, primarily for cooling the processing units which they comprise of that require a great deal of energy and get very warm.  Some large data centers can even use millions of gallons of water daily, an amount which has the potential to strain our total water resources in the state.  This is particularly so when many of these facilities are being proposed in the same area. 
 
There are different systems that a data center can install to do the necessary cooling and different ways they can utilize water to do this.  Some of these techniques result in significantly reduced water withdrawals from whatever source the data center is accessing to get their water within our communities.  My legislation would require all large data centers to use a closed loop system to recycle their water, or another method of cooling that significantly reduces their water use, in order to be constructed and operate in Pennsylvania.  A data center would have to certify and provide evidence to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission that they will be using this type of system before they can begin operating.
 
If data centers do want to operate in Pennsylvania, it is our duty to ensure that they do not negatively impact our Commonwealth’s water supply.  We must ensure that our residents and small businesses never run into concerns with the availability of water simply because data centers have located in our communities.  Please join me in co-sponsoring this important and commonsense legislation.