Ohio Data Center Boom Faces Community Concerns
Columbus City Council held hearings on concerns about the pace, scale, and resource demands of the Intel-anchored data center boom.
The Columbus City Council held a four-hour meeting on March 11, 2026, to discuss the community impact of data centers, covering water usage and job creation. Representatives from the data center industry, labor unions, environmental groups, and the Columbus water department presented information, followed by residents sharing their concerns. Ohio is experiencing a data center boom, ranking fifth in the nation, with the Columbus area seeing an 1800% increase in data centers between 2020 and 2025. This growth is driven by the increasing use of AI software. Concerns include high electricity and water consumption, noise, potential pollution, and rising utility bills. A proposed Ohio EPA permit would allow data centers to discharge wastewater into Ohio's lakes and streams, raising concerns about potential contamination with chemicals like PFAS and nitrates. While the EPA states that discharges harming aquatic life, recreation, or human health will not be allowed, environmental groups are worried about the long-term effects on water quality and human health. New legislation has been introduced to regulate data centers, including the creation of a nonpartisan council to examine their environmental and economic effects.
