Data center construction in the Historic Triangle would be ‘irresponsible’ given current groundwater conditions, expert says

HISTORIC TRIANGLE – A policy expert for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is urging local officials to reconsider approving any major developments amid serious concerns about Coastal Virginia’s dwindling groundwater supply.

According to a study published by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in July, Eastern Virginia has little groundwater left – and the current supply is expected to deteriorate further in the next 5 to 10 years.  

The report focused on the Virginia Coastal Plain (VCP) Aquifer System, which stretches from Interstate 95 to the Chesapeake Bay. Major water withdrawals in this region have caused groundwater levels to fall below sea level. Groundwater resources in these areas are unlikely to support future growth, the findings state. 

Jay Ford, Virginia policy manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, told The Triangle that as of right now, there is no part of the Virginia Coastal Plain where new large groundwater withdrawals – such as data centers – could meet the criteria needed for the DEQ’s permit. 

“What the report says in really stark terms is they tried to model a data center for the Virginia Coastal Plain, and they could not find a way to permit it. [It’s] basically saying our water resources indicate that a data center going into the aquifer is not only inappropriate but irresponsible right now,” Ford said. 

Groundwater depletion has wide-ranging impacts

The study also raises concerns about impacts on human health and ecosystem stability. VCP freshwater aquifers provide drinking water for people living in the area, while also being key components of the local ecosystem. If these natural supplies run low, the region could experience unstable land, pollution by PFAS, plastics or saltwater intrusion.

“Hundreds of thousands, if not close to 1,000,000 people rely on [the Virginia Coastal Plain] for drinking water. And it’s also an essential resource for our ecologies, for industries that want to operate in that area, and it has all kinds of interactions over the long term with our saltwater resources as well,” Ford said.  

Those factors spurred State Sen. Richard Stuart to put forth legislation calling for research into Virginia’s available groundwater supply. The 117-page study, a response to that measure, was finally published in July after the state delayed its release for six months. 

The results of the report sparked a bipartisan request for an urgent special General Assembly session to discuss potential policy changes.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger did not publicly respond to the request for a special session but unveiled a new “Data Center Accountability Framework” on Friday.

The legislation aims to increase transparency, strengthen environmental protections and lower energy costs while investing in the Commonwealth’s workforce, according to Spanberger.

“We are creating a new way forward for how this industry does business in the Commonwealth,” Spanberger said upon signing Executive Order 22, launching the establishment of the initiative. 

Existing legislation is obsolete given data center expansions

Among the groundwater study’s most significant findings is that Virginia’s aquifer was in clear decline until a West Point-area paper mill closed, which led to stabilization. This single industrial user was capable of dismantling an entire ecological system, and it has since reopened.

The DEQ fears such a decline will become an issue again, particularly because the paper mill is working in tandem with many other large water users. 

Since there have not been substantial changes to state policy in decades, Virginia’s current legislation on the subject is outdated, according to Ford.

The current policy is only the second-ever groundwater law in the Commonwealth’s history and was developed over thirty years ago. Critics argue the law was not designed to respond to the hundreds of data centers and millions of new people now populating the region.

The water in the Williamsburg area took 10 to 20 thousand years to become the resource that it is today, Ford said. The supply can be used up far more quickly than it can be recharged. Among the DEQ’s major concerns is that if left unchecked, large withdrawals could destabilize the aquifer, outpacing legislation that can correct the depletion.

Because large industrial projects and data centers are known to be heavy water users, the study raises legitimate concerns about declining water as a result of Virginia’s many data centers. While the report does not specifically mention data centers, other studies have highlighted their high levels of water consumption. 

A United Nations University report stated that global data centers consumed 1.2 trillion gallons (4.5 trillion liters) of water in 2025, while predicting that this figure will double in the next four years. 

Even as efficiency in this technological field increases, the scale at which these resources are being used increases every day, giving way to increased negative environmental impacts, despite developers’ efforts to improve efficiency. 

Ford said many corporations that run data centers are hiding their water usage with non-disclosure agreements. As a result, there are a significant number of untracked withdrawals, and information surrounding data center water impacts is limited.

“As we head towards the next General Assembly session, removing these non-disclosure agreements is going to be a really important priority for us and many other folks in the natural resources community because you can’t effectively or responsibly monitor a resource if you don’t actually know what is going on,” Ford said. 

The DEQ’s report calls for conservation of freshwater and new regulations limiting withdrawal, aiming to curb the negative effects of a water shortage. The study holds that legislation should delegate more power to regulators so that they may reject industrial water withdrawals to combat users taking more than their share of fresh water. 

Given the concerning nature of the now-publicly available findings, legislators may experience more pressure to act on the impending groundwater crisis. 

“We can be leaders and exemplars, but if we’re not holding the corporations accountable for actually changing their habits, we’re not going to turn this around,” Ford said. “I really think the most important thing people can do is tell their legislator to reform our groundwater policies.”

Ford added that urgent action is needed to save a system that is on the brink.

“The public should know that if we don’t make some significant changes, our groundwater resources are in danger,” Ford said. “And that means changes in law, it means changes in best practices at these companies, and it means investment in this recharge technology. None of these are the silver bullet. We need all of them to happen in order to make sure that our aquifer is sustainable for the long term.”