‘What drinking water now looks like’: AOC calls out impact of Meta data centre in Georgia, US

In case you missed it, US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed jars of discoloured water during a congressional hearing to highlight the impacts of the construction of a Meta data centre in Georgia, US.

“They are clear-cutting forests and began having construction, including explosive blasting, and families in the area are starting to see not only their water pressure decrease … it is decimating their water quality,” she said.

Cortez said residents are having to rely on bottled water to bathe and cook, and asked the US Environmental Protection Agency’s water assistant administrator, Jessica Kramer, whether there were any investigations into “how data centres are affecting water quality and availability”.

Following the interaction, EPA assistant administrator Jessica Kramer directed officials to contact Georgia environmental regulators and local authorities in Morgan County to gather additional information about the complaints.

Meta has denied the claims, saying in a statement that the company commissioned an independent groundwater study that found the data centre’s construction and operations “had no impact” on nearby residents’ water supply.

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