Data Centers FAQs 

A data center is a facility that houses computer systems and servers. These systems store, process, and deliver digital services such as cloud-based software like shopping and social media apps, music and video streaming, medical imaging and healthcare records, online banking, artificial intelligence, and support for advanced manufacturing. Data centers exist in varying sizes, from micro to hyperscale.

No. Cities and counties make the land use decisions that determine where data centers can be built. If any industry, including data centers, connects to Clean Water Services facilities, we review the development application submitted for applicable sewer (wastewater), stormwater, and water quality requirements, to determine if the discharge to the sanitary sewer collection system is appropriate. If so, and there is adequate capacity in existing infrastructure to provide service, Clean Water Services issues a service provider letter to the land use agency (city or county) indicating approval or denial.

Depending on the development project and its discharges, Clean Water Services can require permits, inspections, monitoring, and pollution controls.

The Clean Water Services watershed-based permit includes requirements that industrial facilities — including data centers — have systems in place that control pollutants onsite if the volume or quality of the discharge could cause disruption of the treatment process at Clean Water Services facilities, or if federal requirements apply. 

Development standards also address sewer and stormwater connections, construction runoff, and protection of streams and nearby vegetation requirements.  If the infrastructure is inadequate to serve the development, a development agreement to ensure adequate wastewater treatment and conveyance would be required.

Data centers discharge wastewater from restrooms and similar (non-industrial) uses. Industrial discharges vary because they employ various cooling techniques. Cooling systems may produce additional wastewater, depending on their design and operation.

To date, local data centers within the Clean Water Services jurisdictional area have reported the use of air-cooled chillers that implement recirculating cooling loops. These systems reuse cooling fluid rather than routinely discharging it. Maintenance activities may result in the need to discharge from the cooling system. Industries must obtain applicable Clean Water Services approval before draining cooling fluid to the sanitary sewer for maintenance. Any temporary non-domestic wastewater discharges going to the sanitary sewer or stormwater systems in Washington County require a temporary discharge application. This is handled through our temporary discharge request process.

Like other types of industrial facilities, data centers have the potential to be a source of pollutants, either in start-up construction phases or during routine operations. Clean Water Services has the authority to evaluate, inspect, permit, and require pollution control measures in relation to site development, wastewater discharge, and stormwater management. 

A Clean Water Services industrial discharge permit is an official authorization issued by Clean Water Services that allows a business or industrial facility to release non‑domestic wastewater into the public sanitary sewer system under specific conditions. It is part of the Clean Water Services industrial pretreatment program, which is designed to remove, reduce, or alter harmful pollutants in industrial wastewater before it enters the sanitary sewer system.

Significant industrial users — which includes facilities generating 25,000 gallons or more of wastewater per day, those discharging high-strength wastewater requiring surcharge, or discharging pollutants of concern — are required to obtain an industrial discharge permit. More information can be found on our Pretreatment webpage.

Not necessarily. Clean Water Services evaluates the type and amount of wastewater and applicable rules to determine whether a permit is required. Industrial discharge permits are separate from development permits and temporary discharge approvals. 

Rules prohibiting harmful sanitary sewer discharges apply even when an individual industrial discharge permit is not required.

Like other commercial or industrial buildings, data centers discharge non-industrial wastewater via sinks and toilets to the public sanitary sewer system and are subject to a separate connection fee.

Clean Water Services relies on notifications from land use agencies (like cities and counties), industry self-reporting, and surveys to identify potential industrial users. Then, Clean Water Services evaluates discharges and can inspect facilities, require information, and require pollution controls by the industrial facilities to meet federal pretreatment requirements and local discharge requirements.  

In March 2026, Clean Water Services began a coordinated survey effort using business license lists from cities and online data center locator services to identify data centers that had not self-reported.

If Clean Water Services suspects unusual conditions at a treatment facility — such as unacceptable levels of pollution or flow rates — our staff will investigate and work with the discharger to bring them into compliance. Violations can lead to corrective action, penalties, or orders to stop discharging. 

Clean Water Services also publishes an annual notice identifying industrial users that meet the federal criteria for significant noncompliance, a defined category of violations. 

Clean Water Services is not currently supplying recycled water for industrial use. We will continue exploring possible uses with industries, including data centers. Recycled water is wastewater treated to meet requirements for a specific use; it is not supplied as drinking water.  

No. Clean Water Services only handles wastewater from homes, businesses, and industries, and we manage stormwater. If data centers discharge wastewater into the public sanitary system, they are required to pay like any other industrial customer. Data centers do not receive subsidies or special rates from Clean Water Services. The fees and charges paid by the company that owns a data center, or the developer constructing it, may include: 

• System Development Charges (including an industrial connection fee) paid by developers to cover the cost of capital infrastructure improvements necessary to provide capacity for new development 

• If they discharge wastewater into the public sanitary sewer system, an industrial discharge permit fee and a monthly sewer usage fee based on the actual volume and characteristics of industrial wastewater discharges to contribute to the costs of operating the sanitary sewer system 

Business & Industry 
Permits & Development 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit