Water: The Other Infrastructure Question

Data centers might require significant amounts of water, depending on facility design and cooling technology. SB 484 establishes specific consumptive-use permit (CUP) requirements for large-scale data centers under Chapter 373 of the Florida Statutes. The law requires a water-management district or the Department of Environmental Protection to require the use of reclaimed water in place of all or part of a proposed surface-water or groundwater allocation when specified statutory conditions are satisfied. Those conditions include the availability of a suitable permitted reclaimed-water source and adequate distribution infrastructure, the applicant's ability to access the source, and a determination that reclaimed-water use is environmentally, economically, and technically feasible.

Applications requesting an allocation of at least 100,000 gallons per day must also include specified information on water use and a water conservation plan. These requirements operate within Florida's existing water-resource framework, including the authority of the state's water-management districts and DEP. For practitioners, relevant issues include the project's water source, permitting authority, availability of reclaimed water, existing legal uses, and conditions imposed during permitting.