Our Comments - PW Digital Gateway (February 3, 2022)

 By: Ashley Studholme

"This proposal goes against our commitment to protecting our water supply and ensuring that future generations within the region have safe and plentiful drinking water."

In the FAQ that the Planning Office provided “According to the Prince William County Service Authority, sufficient public water supply is available to serve the County’s population to at least 2040.”

Given that we currently have 500 acres that have been built with data centers and that they on average use 18,000 gallons of water a day (just for comparison sake, an average household uses 300 gallons per day). This proposal includes 2,133 acres, which would be a significant (over a 320%) increase from what we have currently. How might this proposal impact projected water availability beyond 2040? 

In addition to impacting water availability from the demand side, this proposal is within the Rural Crescent which protects the headwaters to the Occoquan Reservoir, so it impacts the supply side as well. Preventative measures are better than reactive ones as a general rule but it’s particularly true when it comes to protecting our drinking water supply. 

Source water experts note that protecting undeveloped or minimally developed land is key. Building data centers, warehouses, and widening roads all contribute to more stormwater runoff, which means more nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous and more sedimentation. Stormwater facilities are an important tool once the damage has already been done, but even the best-designed facilities can’t compare with protecting what we have in the first place. (Read more)

According to data from the Virginia DEQ and the Occoquan Monitoring Lab, the Occoquan Reservoir is showing signs of impairment and we have already lost 1billion gallons or 10% of capacity in our reservoir due to sedimentation (source).

This proposal goes against our commitment to protecting our water supply and ensuring that future generations within the region have safe and plentiful drinking water. 

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These comments were shared with the Planning Office during the virtual segment of the Community Meeting on February 3, 2022. Both the in-person and virtual recordings can be found on their website.  

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