Overview:

  • Ypsilanti Township board calls for a 12-month moratorium on water service to data centers, with the utility authority set to address the request at its April 22 board meeting.
  • Proposed facilities from University of Michigan/Los Alamos National Laboratory and Thor Equities could use 500,000 and 1 million gallons of water daily, respectively, within the utility's service territory.
  • Township officials say wastewater treatment has limited capacity, see insufficient evidence the system can handle data center demands without impacting other customers.

The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday calling for a 12-month pause on providing water for data centers.

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Why it matters

Data centers could strain the regional water system and increase utility costs for residents while potentially potentially impacting other businesses and residential developments, according to concerns raised in a Ypsilanti Township resolution.

Who's making public decisions

The Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority board will address the township's moratorium request at its April 22 meeting.

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What to watch for next

Watch for YCUA’s decision on the water moratorium at its April 22 board meeting.

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The board is opposed to the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory’s plan for a $1.2-billion facility in the township. A University of Michigan official previously told Planet Detroit its project could use up to 500,000 gallons of water a day.

The resolution urges the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority (YCUA) to plan and complete several environmental and water system studies before committing to serve data centers or large computing facilities.

YCUA Executive Director Luke Blackburn told Planet Detroit the utility will address the township’s request for a moratorium at its April 22 board meeting.

Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo and Ypsilanti Township Trustee Gloria Peterson both serve on the YCUA Board of Commissioners. 

The utility supplies drinking water and sewer services to multiple communities in Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

Thor Equities’ proposed data center in Augusta Township is also within YCUA’s service territory. MLive reported last year that the project, which is the subject of a ballot question in August, could use 1 million gallons of water daily.

Planet Detroit contacted the University of Michigan and Thor Equities for comment on the Ypsilanti Township resolution.

In an online statement, the university said its project, which it calls a “high-performance computing facility,” will create 200 jobs and support public projects in medicine, climate science, energy, and national security. 

As a public university, U of M is exempt from local zoning requirements — meaning the project does not require township approval.

Ypsilanti water system director: Data centers could impact capacity

Ypsilanti Township Attorney Doug Winters said it’s necessary to “hit the pause button” on data center developments to assess potential impacts to the environment or the township’s ability to accommodate other businesses and housing developments.

He drew attention to what he said is the YCUA wastewater treatment plant’s limited capacity.

Ypsilanti Township Attorney Doug Winters. Photo by Brian Allnutt/Planet Detroit.

“You’re borrowing this land, these resources, from future generations … you have the absolute responsibility to ensure that what you return to the waters is going to be safe,” Winters said.

The YCUA’s Blackburn told Planet Detroit that providing service to multiple hyperscale data centers could impact capacity within the utility’s collection system and Water Resource Recovery Facility.

The township’s resolution raises concerns over data centers’ potential to produce massive amounts of wastewater, chemical pollution, or water that has been warmed by cooling systems.

The township has insufficient evidence the YCUA can meet the large water and sewer demands of data centers, artificial intelligence computing centers, and high-performance computing centers without impacting other residential, commercial, and industrial customers, the resolution states.

The township resolution calls for several studies recommended by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Water Environment Federation (WEF) that would evaluate the long-term capacity of the drinking water, wastewater, and sewer systems; financial impacts on other ratepayers; and infrastructure and capital planning impacts. It also pushes for environmental and emergency response reviews.

Blackburn said the utility plans to perform the studies recommended by the AWWA and WEF in accordance with the township’s resolutions.

Water resolution follows township’s push to block U of M project

Wednesday night’s vote follows a resolution adopted March 31 that declared the Ypsilanti Township board’s opposition to siting the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory’s data center project anywhere in the township.

This marked an escalation in the board’s position on the project, with officials previously voicing serious concerns about the university’s treatment of the township, but calling for the development to be moved to a site near Willow Run airport.

The March resolution emphasized Los Alamos’ work on nuclear weapons research and referred to the facility as a “Tier 1” high value target for terrorists and foreign adversaries that could transform the township from “a civilian community into a potential target zone.”

A Los Alamos official told The Michigan Daily in January that it would perform nuclear weapons research at the proposed Ypsilanti Township facility.

Township attorney Winters said Wednesday’s resolution is not focused on any particular data center. More resolutions to address data center noise and power use are forthcoming, he said.

Winters said data centers are flocking to Michigan because of its water, energy, and state tax breaks. The township board is performing the due diligence the state should have done when it rushed to approve the tax incentives, he said.

Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Stumbo said during Wednesday night’s meeting that she hasn’t spoken to anyone who supports data centers and called attention to the strain the projects place on residents.

“The stress that the state of Michigan has put on not only our residents, but on all residents in the state of Michigan, it’s unforgivable.”

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Brian Allnutt is a senior reporter and contributing editor at Planet Detroit. He covers the climate crisis, environmental justice, politics and open space.