Posted on 05/16/2026 5:07:50 AM PDT by Red Badger
An artificial intelligence data center was running up a water bill for the ages, and local residents were the ones to point out the problem.
In November, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Microsoft had a new “superfactory” named Fairwater spanning over 1 million square feet outside of Atlanta.
Chief Technical Officer Mark Russinovich explained why the site is so massive. “To make improvements in the capabilities of the AI, you need to have larger and larger infrastructure to train it,” he said in a statement.
The site developer, Quality Technology Services, purchased the plot in 2022 for $154 million.
Ironically, Microsoft claimed the site uses a “closed-loop cooling system” that “consumes almost zero water” to operate.
According to a report by Politico, the issue wasn’t discovered until residents of a subdivision in Fayetteville, Georgia, started complaining that their water pressure was extremely low.
When the utility company looked into the matter, they found two water lines going to QTS that weren’t in their system.
They determined the facility had used almost 30 million gallons of water valued at close to $150,000.
This information only became public last week when a letter addressed to QTS, written in May 2025, came out via a public records request. The letter did not specify the time period for the water usage. A water official said it was about four months; a QTS representative said it was closer to 9 to 15 months.
(Excerpt) Read more at westernjournal.com ...
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Ping!............
Could they prosecute MS for fraud, bankrupt them and jail the prinicpals and bury Office in a time vault. That would be a win - win for all of us.
AI thirsts.
AI Overview
There is no public record of Bill Gates expressing an opinion on the Terri Schiavo Case. The high-profile end-of-life legal battle occurred in the early 2000s, and as a public figure, Gates has primarily restricted his commentary to global health, technology, and philanthropy rather than weighing in on specific legal or ethical medical disputes.
???????..............
IF Kirk had been there he’d talked the computer into suicide.
Hmmm...sounds more like the “water powers that be” probably knew this, possibly by design. Follow the money, see who is aiding this theft, see who designed and built the facility and which site plan zoning board members approved the plans and go from there. No way the “utility company” did not know about those magic pipes. Only when the local peons started to complain did it become an issue.
“AI Data Center Guzzled 30 Million Gallons of Water for Free...”
Of course they did! Count on all kinds of malfeasance with these data centers. As an added bonus you can also enjoy your skyrocketing electric and water bills!
Gemini says the wayer wasn’t used by an operating data center. I was used in the construction of the data center.
“According to site developer QTS Data Centers and county officials, the water was consumed by heavy machinery and contractors over several months for temporary construction needs, including:Concrete work: Mixing large-scale industrial concrete for the massive foundations.Dust control: Spraying down the 615-acre dirt site to prevent dust storms.Site preparation: General grading, compacting, and initial infrastructure work.”
Regardless of what it was used for, they didn’t pay for any of it....................
I was just wondering if the founder of Microsoft had expressed an opinion on that case.
AI is highly controversial, artificial... some find value in its life, other see no good use for it, that it needs to die, no sense giving it any water then.
From the looks of it, as it had been claimed, the facility didn’t need any outside water anyway.
True, but it wasn’t Microsoft. It was the company that developed the site.
Mr Gates no longer has any role at Microsoft. He resigned from the board in 2020, and has sold most of his Microsoft stock.
Used in construction is a huge difference from being used in a data center.
Sounds as if the premise of the article is not correct.
Fun fact, I had an office next to Mark on the first floor of bldg 42
They found two water lines going to QTS that weren’t in their system.
Somebody got pair off?.
Someone speaks with a forked tongue.
Microsoft is developing what is intended to be the world’s first commercial fusion reactor near the small town of Chelan in north central Washington State near the Columbia river, on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains. It’s gotten surprisingly little press. Intentionally, on their part, I imagine, so there is as little popular opposition as possible.
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