19119_Authority_April_2026

44 The Authority │ April what type of pollutants will be discharged to a system? What type of treatment process will be necessary to prevent surface and groundwater pollution and, if feasible, at what cost? All issues that need to be vetted, but space limitations require these issues, and others (e.g. pretreatment) to be addressed more fully at a later date. Stepping away from what some classify as a pure environmental issue is the topic of energy expenditure and energy consumption. Along with water consumption, this has been a paramount issue surrounding the operation of data centers. Electricity demand will no doubt increase, perhaps substantially, with additional placement of data centers in our country and elsewhere. What will be the source of such electricity, and will local power grids be impacted? What about the continued use of fossil fuel technologies, with potential corresponding air quality issues that may need to be addressed. Can renewable energy sources or data center infrastructure that is energy efficient be utilized to address energy consumption concerns? All questions that are worthy of further discussion. The purpose of this article is simply to identify certain environmental and energy issues germane to data centers, which facilities address our growing reliance on modern technology, such as artificial intelligence and the Cloud. Certainly, the siting of data centers presents environmental and energy issues worthy of further discussion and vetting. S P erhaps the most frequent issue raised in the operation of data centers , which can be considered environmental , is the amount of water required to operate such facilities . Photo credit: PA Environment Digest Blog (https://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2026/03/house-committee-reports-out-bills-to.html )