Data Center Water Use: Paying Attention

Executive Director Message

Andrew D. Dehoff, P.E.

For much of the Commission’s 55 years of existence, we’ve had a relatively low profile. We quietly work behind the scenes, managing the water resources of our basin often unnoticed, not unsimilar to the quiet river passing by. Many of us that work here are introverted scientists and engineers – we like it that way.

But every once in a while something will cause you to pay attention to the river. A flood, an ice jam, an industrial spill, a drought. Data centers are proving to be that something for the Commission as we enter 2026...

Large River Surveys

We recently published a new webpage dedicated to Large River Surveys. The Commission has been monitoring the large river systems of the Susquehanna River Basin since the early 2000s. The focus of these surveys varies based on the data needs and interests of the Commission, of other agencies and stakeholders, and the evolution of sample methodologies specific to large river ecosystems.

Datasets collected assist with determining river health. Previous studies included basinwide documentation of water quality and biological conditions, data collection in geographically underrepresented areas, and assessment of the impoundment system in the lower mainstem Susquehanna River.

You can learn more about study design and the types of data collected on our new webpage. Then use our Probabilistic Stream & River Survey Dashboard to look-up biology, habitat and water quality ratings of the river sites surveyed.

SRBC Executive Director Andrew Dehoff and Communications Specialist Stacey Hanrahan were recently invited on Duane Morris Government Strategies' podcast Back in Session.

They chatted with hosts Ryan Stevens and Ryan DeMara about the Commission's unique structure and the real-world impacts our work has on local communities. Listen to learn about the reasons we were created more than 50 years ago and why those concerns still exist today. The conversation covers everything from floods & droughts to eels & eDNA. They even offered some fun facts about the basin you may have never heard!



"I like to point out that the Susquehanna is one of the world's oldest rivers. And it's also said to be the largest river in the country that's non-navigable, and those two fun facts to a geek go hand in hand... when sea level was much lower than it is now, the Chesapeake Bay did not exist, that was just the Susquehanna River making its way to the Atlantic Ocean, so today the Bay is just the flooded Susquehanna..."

-- Andrew Dehoff

When talk of proposed data centers began popping up in news headlines on what seemed to be a daily basis, we noticed water usage was rarely mentioned. So we set out to get the potential effects on our basin's water resources into the conversation. Over the last six months, we've published numerous articles on the topic, testified at legislative hearings, presented at public educational events, and met with various individual organizations, counties, municipalities, lawmakers and more.

We can now confidently say the word is out! But the reality of actual water use by this emerging industry is still very much up in the air. Every data center is designed and sited differently. Water needs are evolving quickly in some cases, given advancements in cooling technologies that can increase water conservation. We will continue to promote water saving technologies along with responsibly regulating future data centers as we do with all industries.

Below are just three recent resources to learn more including an FAQ on the Commission's potential interaction with the data center industry, a WITF interview with our Executive Director Andrew Dehoff that provides a good summary on the topic, and an article we wrote for the American Society of Civil Engineers entitled Engineering a Balance: Data Center Development and Water Resource Sustainability.