Data Center Project Estimated To Use More Than One Million Gallons Of Water Per Day
A controversial data center project is now estimated to use more than double the daily water the company initially projected.
NorthMark Compute and Cloud, the company behind the $3 billion Valara Data Center project in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, said the data center is expected to use an average of 1.2 million gallons of water per day once fully built.
“NorthMark Compute and Cloud recently identified that we previously communicated dated information on our water needs to the public. At full buildout, the facility is projected to use an average of 1.2 million gallons per day, with a projected maximum of 1.6 million gallons per day,” the company said in a statement on social media.
“The previously shared figure of 459,000 gallons per day came from a Phase I wastewater survey and did not represent the facility’s projected water demand at full buildout. The higher water-demand figures were provided to Spartanburg Water on February 11, 2026, as part of the project’s Large Water Meter Questionnaire,” the statement continued.
“People should be able to rely on the information we provide, and we are correcting our statements while revalidating other publicly shared numbers. Spartanburg Water has reaffirmed that the project’s total demand is within its capacity and that it can serve the project without negatively affecting existing or future customers. We remain committed to transparency and welcome questions about the project’s water use, supply, and wastewater plans,” it added.