Community Impact

Research & Sources

Independent research and authoritative sources concerning data centers and their potential impacts on water, energy, traffic, the environment, wildlife, property and surrounding communities.

Water & Cooling

Research on data-center water demand, cooling systems, evaporation, water quality, and wastewater considerations.

Why This Matters

Cooling technology can significantly affect how much water a data center consumes. Understanding the proposed cooling system is essential to when evaluating potential local water impacts.

Power & Energy

Research on data center electricity demand, grid capacity, energy infrastructure, and projected growth in power use.

Why This Matters

Large data centers can require substantial and continuous electrical capacity. The source of that power and any required infrastructure are important considerations for the surrounding community.

Traffic & Roads

Research and project-specific information concerning construction traffic, truck movements, roadway capacity, safety, and potential effects on local roads.

Why This Matters

Construction can create very different traffic conditions from normal data center operations. Project-specific traffic studies and access plans help determine potential effects on nearby roads.

Environment & Wildlife

Research on potential effects of large-scale development on wildlife habitat, streams, and wetlands, stormwater, vegetation, and surrounding ecosystems.

Why This Matters

Large-scale development can alter habitat, drainage and natural buffers. Site-specific environmental studies help identify resources that may require protection or mitigation.

Property & Community

Research on how data center development may affect nearby communities, including land use, noise and lighting, property values, local infrastructure, and quality of life considerations.

Why This Matters

Community effects vary by location and project design. Setbacks, buffers, noise controls, lighting, traffic management, and public involvement can all influence how a project interacts with nearby properties.

Sources

U.S. Department of Energy - Cooling Water Efficiency Opportunities for Federal Data Centers

Explains how cooling towers use evaporation, makeup water and blowdown, and discusses methods for reducing water consumption.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - U.S. Data Center Energy & Water Modeling

Provides national research and modeling of data center electricity and on-site water demand, including how different cooling technologies affect water consumption.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Water Use of Data Center Workloads

A 2025 research study showing that data center water use can vary enormously depending on factors including technology, climate, server efficiency and the electricity source. That’s important because it helps us avoid implying that every data center uses the same amount of water.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update

This is especially useful because it is the newer June 2026 update. It estimates that data centers could account for 11.8% of total U.S. electricity use by 2030, with scenarios from 9.5% to 15.3%.

U.S. Department of Energy - Electricity Demand Growth Resource Hub

DOE discusses rising electricity demand, including growth associated with data centers and AI, and provides resources concerning grid reliability, affordability and planning.

International Energy Agency - Energy and AI: Energy Demand from AI

This gives us a broader independent perspective. The IEA examines projected data center electricity growth and emphasizes that large data centers are geographically concentrated, which can make their integration into local and regional grids more challenging.

Georgia Department of Transportation - Traffic Data

Official Georgia transportation information and traffic-count resources useful for evaluating traffic conditions on state and local routes.

Federal Highway Administration-Freight & Roadway Planning

Federal transportation resources concerning truck traffic, roadway capacity, safety, and transportation planning.

Georgia DNR - Environmental Review

Georgia DNR explains its environmental review process and specifically notes that large-scale projects in previously undeveloped areas and projects potentially affecting natural habitats or aquatic resources should receive formal comment from its office.

Georgia DNR - Georgia’s Aquatic Species Diversity

This is particularly useful for our discussion of streams. Georgia DNR explains how development-related impervious surfaces, runoff, erosion and loss of stream buffers can affect aquatic habitat.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Stream Crossings in Georgia

Explains how roads, culverts, utility crossings and other infrastructure can affect stream habitat and wildlife movement, including habitat fragmentation.

National Association of Counties - Data Centers: County Considerations

A 2026 primer for local governments covering land use, infrastructure, energy and water demands, zoning, permitting, and long-term community considerations.

Federation of American Scientists - Before Breaking Ground

A 2026 local government guide that specifically examines data center property values, local ordinances, and community-benefit agreements. Its property value section looks at taxable-value data from six jurisdictions.

Duke University - Data Center Development and Local Governance

Research addressing community concerns including noise, land use, water, energy, tax incentives, zoning, and community involvement in data center development.