"Rolling Stone's exposé details how Amazon, despite not using any dangerous nitrates to cool its data centers, is accelerating the contamination of the Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer, which residents rely on for drinking water. It's a combination of poor wastewater management, sandy soil, and good old physics that has led to nitrate concentrations in drinking water as high as 73 ppm (parts per million) in some wells, which is 10 times the state limit of 7 ppm and seven times the federal limit."
"experts say Amazon's arrival supercharged this process. The data centers suck up tens of millions of gallons of water from the aquifer each year to cool their computer equipment, which then gets funneled to the Port's wastewater system. The result is that more nitrate-laden wastewater gets pumped onto area farms. But the porous soil saturates quickly and more nitrates make their way into the aquifer."
Morrow County, Oregon combines mega farms, food processing plants, and multiple Amazon data centers over the Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer. Data centers withdraw tens of millions of gallons annually to cool equipment and route wastewater into the Port's system, increasing the volume of nitrate-laden effluent applied to nearby fields. Sandy, porous soils allow rapid infiltration, pushing nitrates into groundwater and concentrating nitrate levels in some wells as high as 73 ppm—about ten times Oregon's 7 ppm state limit and roughly seven times the federal 10 ppm limit. Elevated nitrate exposure is linked to increased cancer and miscarriage rates.
Read at The Verge
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