The Georgia Water Coalition released its annual report Thursday on the biggest threats to healthy waters throughout the state by highlighting the unintended consequences of record economic development in the coastal region and how a rash of new state-of-the-art data centers is a threat to Georgia’s rivers.
The Georgia Water Coalition’s Dirty Dozen 2024 report listed polluted waterways that it said deserve urgent attention from public officials and residents who can advocate for policies that will protect natural resources that millions of people rely on for clean drinking water and are enjoyed by Georgians for outdoor recreation.
Georgia’s economic incentives have resulted in a surge of companies planning to build massive data centers to support online data storage and artificial intelligence technology. The report cites the damage that the data centers do to the environment by straining the electric grid and requiring large amounts of water to keep their equipment cool while operating around-the-clock.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
