CLOSED-LOOP ONLY • NO WASTEWATER LOOPHOLES • PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT A DATA CENTER HEAT SINK
SaveChesapeakeCity.org

Closed-loop only for Chesapeake data centers.

Water supply is not wastewater capacity. Sewer systems are not cooling systems. The data center ordinance should apply citywide with no build-by-right loopholes.

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Main issue: Chesapeake data centers must be closed-loop only.

The ordinance should be fixed before approval. Every data center in Chesapeake should meet the same minimum standards, including any site shown on a map as buildable by right.

1Hot water risk

Modern liquid-cooled AI systems can use hot coolant. CDC says Legionella grows best between 77°F and 113°F. The safe policy answer is no routine cooling-water discharge.

2Sewer capacity

Clean water in the wrong pipe still uses public sewer capacity. Chesapeake already treats stormwater separately for this reason.

3Land sinking

HRSD is using SWIFT to put highly treated water back into the Potomac Aquifer because Hampton Roads is sinking.

4No loopholes

Citizens spoke about all data centers in Chesapeake. The standards should not skip a build-by-right carveout.

Infographic

Use this as the current public-facing visual. A crisp SVG share-card is also included in the assets folder.

Closed-loop only infographic for Chesapeake data center water and wastewater ordinance

Drop-in ordinance fixes

  1. All data centers in Chesapeake shall use closed-loop cooling systems with zero cooling-water discharge.
  2. No data center shall discharge routine cooling water, process water, blowdown, or heated industrial wastewater into the sanitary sewer, stormwater system, or receiving infrastructure.
  3. Any discharge shall be cooled below 77°F at the site outlet, continuously monitored for temperature and flow, approved in writing by HRSD and Chesapeake Public Utilities, and paid for entirely by the applicant.
  4. This standard shall apply to every data center in Chesapeake, including any site shown on the map as buildable by right.

Site structure

Data centers Water, wastewater, thermal discharge, siting, noise, grid impacts. City Council run agenda Outstanding platform issues to build into public pages. Candidate tracker scaffold No candidates listed yet; prepared to track what each candidate does. Background research Sources, public records, FOIA, and issue evidence.

CPS advocacy

SaveNorfolkHighlands.com is the main CPS advocacy hub. SaveChesapeakeCity.org will link to it and track what City Council and School Board candidates say and do.

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