After months of community pushback, Palm Beach County turned down a proposed large AI data center, with questions about its water demand ultimately taking center stage.
The vote may have halted Project Tango for now, but officials and experts say more clashes over similar facilities are likely as AI infrastructure continues to expand.
What happened?
In July, Palm Beach County commissioners cast a 5-1 vote against Project Tango, a planned $2 billion AI data center complex in Loxahatchee, Florida.
According to WLRN, the proposal envisioned roughly 4 million square feet of development on 200 acres, drawing 600 megawatts of power, near the Arden neighborhood and Saddle View Elementary School.
How much water the site would consume remained unclear, which became a key sticking point. WLRN reported that project manager Ernie Cox put daily use at 5,000 gallons, while county staff projected 100,000 gallons of potable water per day. The outlet also said the closed-loop cooling system would need an initial fill of more than 600,000 gallons.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs said the developers "didn't know" the exact numbers and had not provided enough accountability about local water use.
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Separate from the 12-hour quasi-public hearing, commissioners had already voted a week earlier to stop accepting new applications for large-scale data centers, WLRN reported. That temporary ban is headed to a public hearing and first vote on August 27.
Why does it matter?
AI data centers can support useful tools, including systems that help utilities forecast electricity demand, manage battery storage, and improve clean energy efficiency. However, those same facilities can also put enormous pressure on the power grid, especially because they require nonstop electricity and extensive cooling.
They can also raise concerns about higher energy bills, security risks, and environmental costs for nearby communities.
Dr. Frederick Bloetscher, a civil, environmental, and geomatics engineering professor at Florida Atlantic University, said the oft-cited 100,000-gallon estimate could significantly understate likely demand. WLRN reported that he places typical water use for a hyperscale AI data center at about 1 million to 5 million gallons per day.
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Critics, as WLRN described them, focused on the stakes for a region where aquifers and the Everglades are tightly connected to the water supply. Their concern was that a major facility near sensitive water infrastructure could endanger drinking water and surrounding ecosystems if withdrawals or discharges were not strictly managed.
What's being done?
The county denied the proposal without prejudice, leaving the developers free to revise it and apply again. Even so, the vote suggests upcoming projects are likely to get far more scrutiny on issues such as water sourcing, stormwater management, and effects on nearby neighborhoods.
The South Florida Water Management District said it cannot weigh in until a project formally applies for a permit. In a statement, the agency said: "Any application must provide a water conservation plan and evaluate if the use of reclaimed water is environmentally, technically and economically feasible."
Bloetscher said officials should set tougher requirements for runoff from vast paved surfaces so heavy storms do not increase flood risks for nearby communities. On cooling, Bloetscher argued that local governments ought to push developers toward treated wastewater instead of potable supplies.
WLRN also noted that Florida's Senate Bill 484 requires public hearings and expands regulators' ability to reject permits when large-scale data centers could harm local water resources. Separately, Sachs said those hyperscale AI campuses might be better located near military bases, where power access already exists, and homes are farther away.
"We rely on the Everglades to recharge our aquifer," Bloetscher said. "More water there, is more water for us." Sachs added, "And until they're certain as to their effects on our environment, you cannot operate a county without sufficient water."
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