The Project Blue data center that’s under construction in Pima County could use up to 31 million gallons of water per year.
Doug MacEachern, spokesperson with the Arizona Department of Water Resources says that Bobcat Tucson Water LLC – an out-of-state company – applied for two commercial wells in January, on behalf of Project Blue.
Bobcat Tucson Water LLC is an entity tied to Beale Infrastructure – the developers of Project Blue.
MacEachern told AZPM that the two wells are approved under three existing legal groundwater rights agreements.
The rights are as follows:
- Right No. 58-100311.0004 – 35.50 acre-feet per year
- Right No. 58-105878.0006 – 36.00 acre-feet per year
- Right No. 58-160063.0004 – 25.00 acre-feet per year
That brings the total volume amount to 96.50 acre-feet per year. For context, one acre-foot is enough water to cover one acre of land with one foot of water.
Because Bobcat has plans to drill two new wells within the Tucson AMA, they needed to show that they had grandfathered groundwater rights. The company will be required to report its water usage to the ADWR annually.
The ADWR says that Bobcat indicated that each well will have the pumping capacity of 600 gallons per minute.
Officials with Beale say that once the site is fully operational, the facility is estimated to use 15,000 to 20,000 gallons per day, comparing it to about the same amount of use as two to three restaurants.
MacEachern said according to its application, Bobcat’s main use of groundwater would be for “potable and fire suppression” purposes.
In September, it was reported that the data center would transition into a closed-loop air-cooled facility from a water-cooled campus that would’ve relied on potable water. Beale said in a statement that once the closed-loop circuit is filled up, the water will continue to recirculate.
The facility plans to rely on on-site wells for standard office building purposes such as bathrooms and employee kitchens.
The data center’s developers had to find an alternate source of water because the City of Tucson rejected the project in August including the use of city water. The rejection was after several community information sessions, and after the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved the project in June.
Earlier this month, Tucson city manager Tim Thomure notified project developers that the city had revoked a temporary water meter issued to the company’s contractor, Ames Construction that was being used for dust control.
Ames Construction obtained the water meter in April.
“As you are well aware, the city of Tucson Mayor and Council unanimously rejected any involvement with, or support for, the Project Blue Data Center Development. As such, the City of Tucson also rejected any use of our water resources for this facility,” Thomure said in a letter.
According to Arizona Corporation Commission business filings, Bobcat Tucson Water LLC registered with the utilities regulators on Dec. 2 and two weeks later, the shell company named Bobcat B1 LLC registered with the Commission.
That same company closed on the 290-acre sale of Pima County land for the data center on Dec. 24.
In November, AZPM asked the ADWR about Project Blue’s potential water source.
On Dec. 4, ADWR told AZPM in a statement that:
The Department is not working with Beale Industries about accessing a potential water source for the proposed data center near Tucson. They would be working with either Pima County or the City of Tucson.
Each city maintains its own diverse and robust water portfolio that includes contingency supplies. That means that each city plans for growth, invests in new technologies, and conserves where it sees fit. So, if a city wants to build a new data center or tech facility, it is up to its discretion based on its own available resources.
MacEachern told AZPM that the department did not receive an application to construct a well until Jan. 5.
“The Department cannot and does not provide verbal approval prior to the submission of an application, including all applicable fees, required signatures, and supporting documentation, which enables the Department to determine whether the application should be approved or denied,” MacEachern said in a statement.
