Columbus' growth could strain its water supply
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Columbus' explosive growth could someday strain our water supply without more planning, warns a new Alliance for the Great Lakes report.
Why it matters: Residents, data centers, farms and manufacturers such as Intel are all tapping the same supply — and if it can't keep up, that could result in higher bills, shortages or restrictions.
- Groundwater extraction is already causing our city to slowly sink, we recently reported.
State of play: Our local supply is currently sufficient. But more infrastructure investments and water recycling strategies will be necessary to maintain it into the future, a state-led study concluded earlier this year.
- The Central Ohio Water Advisory Council, housed within the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), is coming up with a plan for the 15-county region.
- Ohio was also the first Midwest state to join the WateReuse Association last year, to begin exploring water recycling solutions.
Zoom in: Columbus' drinking water comes mostly from three reservoirs — Griggs and O'Shaughnessy, on the Scioto River, and Hoover, on Big Walnut Creek. The rest is pumped from aquifers in southern Franklin County.
- Three water treatment plants pump an average of 145 million gallons daily.
- Columbus is annexing the land around Hoover to protect it.
- It's also building a fourth facility, a $1.6 billion water treatment plant in southwestern Delaware County, to meet increasing demand. It should be online in about five years.
Between the lines: Intel and data centers — which typically evaporate water to cool machinery — are big factors, as is residential growth.
- Dan Diorio, the Data Center Coalition's vice president of state policy, tells Axios the industry continues to "innovate" to reduce its footprint.
The big picture: The Great Lakes report illustrates how Central Ohio is a microcosm of a larger challenge throughout the Midwest.
- It calls for stronger groundwater protections and more transparency on data center consumption, which is largely considered proprietary.
- It also notes that climate change will make future management more challenging.
What they're saying: "I call our water resources our 'liquid gold' here in Central Ohio," says Edwina Teye, MORPC's senior water and natural resources program manager.
- "There's a lot of work going on, a lot of collaboration, to maintain the integrity of our water resources."
What's next: A water advisory council strategic plan is expected next year, Teye tells Axios.