Article Text
Virginia’s eastern coastal plain has limited groundwater available for new industrial users, and aquifer levels are projected to decline, according to a state study released July 23 after months of delay.
The analysis attributes the projected decline to population growth and industrial use. It does not blame data centers for the aquifer outlook, but says that under current conditions an evaporatively cooled data center—or any comparable water user—would be unlikely to find a reliable, sufficient groundwater supply anywhere in the region.
“Under current conditions, it appears unlikely that a data center with evaporative cooling technology (or any comparable water user) would find a reliable, sufficient groundwater supply anywhere in the region,” the study says.
The study’s findings apply to the eastern coastal plain, not to Virginia’s entire aquifer system or Northern Virginia specifically. Still, they arrive as state officials and local governments weigh how to accommodate industrial growth while protecting drinking-water supplies and other water-dependent industries.
The report recommends giving regulators stronger authority to reject industrial groundwater-withdrawal permits and to respond when users exceed authorized withdrawals. It also calls for applicants seeking large withdrawals to evaluate surface-water or water-reuse options before turning to groundwater.
Other recommendations include stronger local water-use planning and additional funding for water-management staff and equipment. The study asks lawmakers to clarify how regulators should prioritize public drinking water under a law that currently directs them to consider protecting existing uses.
Virginia enacted its first groundwater law in 1973 and strengthened it in 1992 after legislators acknowledged that the earlier framework was too permissive. Regional withdrawals dropped sharply after a paper mill closed roughly 15 years ago. That reduction, combined with regulatory measures, helped groundwater levels rise in the region’s largest aquifer. The recovery has since stalled, and levels are projected to resume declining.
State Sen. Richard Stuart sponsored the legislation requiring the study after raising concerns about groundwater for at least 15 years. Stuart said local governments in his Northern Neck district increasingly were being told to shift to surface-water sources because of groundwater strain while new data centers were coming online there.
“Folks worry about the lack of the ability for growth. A lot of them are talking about industrial and commercial. I’m worried about our citizens having drinking water, and I’m worried about our seafood industry because they need clean water,” Stuart said.
Jay Ford, Virginia policy manager for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, described the situation more starkly: “We’re standing on the ledge.”
The study’s release followed questions from advocacy groups and an advisory committee during June and July about why the report, which was due in January, remained unavailable. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality withheld it in response to an Associated Press public-records request. After AP sought comment about the refusal, Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office provided the study to the news organization late July 23.
Jack Bledsoe, a spokesperson for Spanberger, attributed the delay to a backlog inherited from the previous governor’s administration. He said the governor would work with the General Assembly on groundwater-management policy.
“Governor Spanberger is committed to working with the General Assembly to carefully evaluate its findings, strengthen the Commonwealth’s groundwater management policies, and protect Virginia’s water supply for future generations,” Bledsoe said.
The study notes that most existing and planned Virginia data-center capacity is located within public water-service areas that draw primarily from surface water. However, no comprehensive public dataset identifies groundwater-sourced withdrawals by data centers, and the number of data centers under development specifically in eastern Virginia was unclear in the reporting. Cleanview counted 371 operating data centers and 438 planned centers statewide, but those figures were not independently corroborated in the supplied material.