The Georgia Water Coalition releases its annual report on the biggest threats to healthy waters across the state, highlighting the unintended effects of record economic development in coastal areas and how the proliferation of new, state-of-the-art data centers will We emphasized that it is a threat to the world. Georgia river.
The coalition's Dirty Dozen 2024 report, released Thursday, calls for an urgent need for public officials and residents to advocate for policies that protect the natural resources that Georgians enjoy as millions seek clean drinking water. A list of polluted waterways that require attention is listed. outdoor recreation.
Georgia's economic incentives have led to a surge in companies planning to build large data centers to support online data storage and artificial intelligence technology. The report notes the damage data centers cause to the environment by straining power grids and requiring large amounts of water to cool equipment during 24-hour operation.
(Read more: Kemp vetoes data center tax cuts, homestead exemption increase, higher education aid)
Last month, state regulators approved Georgia Power's request to significantly increase power generation by increasing its use of fossil fuels and renewable energy. According to Georgia Power, 80% of the additional commercial demand will be used to power data centers over the next few years.
“Georgia proudly touts itself as the number one state for business, but economic development success is not without its influence,” the report states. “When we failed to plan for growth, when we failed to enforce existing laws to protect our water resources, and when we poorly funded state agencies charged with protecting our state’s natural resources; Economic development inevitably affects the resources we use. Everything depends on it.
Two of the new additions to the Dirty Dozen list are related to the 2022 completion of deepening work at the Port of Savannah, which will open the port to significantly larger shipping vessels and allow Georgia to grow. Coastal areas of the state are struggling to maintain adequate water supplies.
(Read more: Microsoft buys vast tract of land south of Atlanta to expand data centers)
The Georgia Water Coalition is also warning of threats to the surface and groundwater of Abercorn Creek, which supplies water to 400,000 residents of the Floridian Coastal Aquifer and Savannah region.
“With saltwater intrusion limiting water withdrawal from the coastal Floridan River, local residents are scrambling to find new water sources to meet the needs of developments like the massive Hyundai electric vehicle plant in Bryan County. They are scrambling to get ahead,” the report said. “The region is in dire need of a coordinated and enforceable water plan.”
The 2024 report continues the trend of the past few years by expressing concern about the Okefenokee Wetland, with conservationists pointing out that the Twin Pines, a few miles from the edge of Australia's largest blackwater wetland, It is awaiting the state's decision on whether to issue a permit for the first phase of the titanium mine.America
For more information, visit GeorgiaRecorder.com.