Fayetteville, Ga. — A massive data center campus in Fayette County consumed more than 29 million gallons of water without proper billing or full awareness by local utilities, leading to low water pressure issues for residents in the surrounding community, according to a Politico report published Saturday.
The 615-acre facility, codenamed “Project Excalibur,” is located in north-central Georgia near Fayetteville. Investigators discovered that the campus had one unauthorized water connection installed without the knowledge of the Fayette County Water System. A second connection was active but not properly linked to the developer’s account, meaning the operator was not being billed for the massive usage.
Fayetteville Data Center Secretly Drained 29 Million Gallons of Water, Causing Low Pressure for Local Residents
Controversial data centers have been erected across Georgia in recent years.
Local officials say the unreported consumption strained the water system and contributed to noticeably low water pressure for homes and businesses in the host community. Many residents reported issues with daily water use during the period of heavy draw by the data center.
Sandra Bailey, a homemaker who lives in Fayette County, says she noticed that her kitchen faucet would slow to a trickle at certain times of the day.
”It was just something that happened all of a sudden,” said Bailey, who attended a recent City Council meeting but refrained from making public comments.
Data centers are known for their enormous resource demands, particularly for cooling servers, but the scale of the unbilled usage in Fayette County has raised fresh concerns about transparency, infrastructure capacity, and oversight as the region continues to attract major tech investments.
Fayette County officials have not yet released a full public statement on the matter, but sources familiar with the situation indicate that utility staff are now working to bring both connections into full compliance and proper metering. It remains unclear how long the unauthorized or unbilled connections were active before being identified.
The incident comes as Georgia aggressively courts hyperscale data center projects, drawn by the state’s relatively low energy costs, available land, and business-friendly climate. However, similar stories in other communities have highlighted growing tensions over water and power usage as these facilities multiply across the Southeast.
This is a developing story. AtlantaFi.com will continue to follow developments with Fayette County officials, the data center operator, and state regulators regarding Project Excalibur and any potential remediation or policy changes that may result.
Residents with questions about their water service are encouraged to contact the Fayette County Water System directly.
