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Project MidSpan: Water, Cooling & Wastewater

Project-specific water source, cooling technology, wastewater, stormwater, drought conditions, and the evidence needed to verify public claims.

“Water efficient” is a design claim until the water balance is published.

Developer claims · Detailed issue review

Current status

SDCL says MidSpan is intended to be highly water-efficient and has said it does not plan to withdraw water from the Hiwassee River. The complaint also cites access to industrial water, potable water, wastewater capacity, and sewer service as site-selection advantages. The reviewed record does not yet include a project water balance, cooling design, utility commitment, wastewater characterization, or drought operating plan.

Sources:MID-004MID-007MID-013MID-015

What is documented

Records and statements that can be tied to an identified source.

LegalFiling

The complaint identifies water and wastewater access as site-selection factors

SDCL’s filing says the property had access to an ample industrial-water supply, wastewater-treatment capacity, and potable water and sewer service for employees. Those statements should be verified against utility capacity and service records.

Sources:MID-004

DeveloperStatement

SDCL says MidSpan will not withdraw water from the Hiwassee River

In public statements reported locally, SDCL has said that the project does not plan to take water directly from the Hiwassee River and is intended to be highly water-efficient.

Sources:MID-007

GovernmentStatement

TDEC regulates environmental aspects according to the final design

TDEC says data-center requirements can depend on water source, wastewater management, cooling technology, construction footprint, stormwater, fuel storage, and other project-specific facts. TDEC does not issue one comprehensive “data-center permit.”

Sources:MID-013

GovernmentStatement

Stormwater is regulated separately

TDEC’s NPDES stormwater program regulates qualifying construction and industrial stormwater discharges. Which permits or coverage MidSpan requires will depend on the final construction and operating plan.

Sources:MID-015

What SDCL says about water

These statements are attributed to the project or its participants and are not automatically independent findings.

DeveloperStatement

No direct Hiwassee withdrawal is planned

The company has publicly stated that the project does not plan to draw water from the Hiwassee River.

Sources:MID-007

DeveloperStatement

High water efficiency is a stated design objective

SDCL describes water efficiency as a project priority, but the current source set does not yet include the engineering basis or numeric demand associated with that statement.

Sources:MID-007

Environmental and utility context

Water supply, wastewater, and stormwater may involve different providers, permits, and measurements.

GovernmentStatement

Water and sewer capacity are generally utility questions

TDEC’s data-center guidance identifies water and sewer service capacity primarily as matters for the serving utility or provider, while TDEC regulates applicable environmental discharges and water-related permits.

Sources:MID-013

GovernmentStatement

Construction stormwater has its own permitting pathway

Large-scale land disturbance can trigger NPDES construction-stormwater requirements independent of the project’s eventual cooling-water design.

Sources:MID-015

What remains unresolved

  • ?What cooling technology will be used in each phase: air-cooled, evaporative, hybrid, liquid cooling, or another configuration?
  • ?What are average-day, peak-day, annual, startup, maintenance, and drought-condition water demands?
  • ?Which utility or source will provide process and potable water?
  • ?What quantity and quality of wastewater will be discharged, and to which treatment system?
  • ?What stormwater controls, detention systems, receiving waters, and construction-phasing controls are planned?
  • ?Would the project use groundwater, reclaimed water, or any emergency water source?
  • ?What enforceable limits would apply if the final design uses more water than currently represented?

Evidence needed

Complete water balance
Source-by-source inflows, process uses, cooling losses, blowdown, wastewater, stormwater interfaces, and annual/peak figures.
Cooling design basis
Equipment type, operating temperatures, seasonal modes, redundancy, and water-use assumptions.
Utility capacity letter
Available water and wastewater capacity, connection points, upgrade requirements, and service conditions.
Wastewater characterization
Expected flow, temperature, chemistry, treatment requirements, and receiving facility.
Stormwater and erosion plans
Construction sequencing, detention, discharge points, receiving waters, and permit coverage.

What would change this assessment

The current assessment should move when stronger records, rulings, studies, or enforceable commitments materially change the evidence.

  • →A published water balance showing low, high, or highly variable demand relative to current general descriptions.
  • →A utility study showing that service requires significant new capacity or infrastructure.
  • →Permit filings identifying direct surface-water, groundwater, or discharge impacts not currently evident.
  • →Binding water-use limits or reuse requirements that materially constrain future operating demand.

Records to obtain

These are the highest-value documents to seek through public records, project disclosures, regulatory filings, or the court record.

Water / sewer service correspondence
Capacity letters, engineering studies, connection agreements, and upgrade estimates from the relevant providers.
Cooling engineering package
Design narratives, equipment schedules, water-use calculations, and phase assumptions.
TDEC filings
Stormwater, wastewater, water-use, or other environmental applications and agency correspondence as they become available.
Drought and emergency plan
Operating assumptions for drought restrictions, utility interruption, fire demand, or equipment failure.

How Placeward will verify it

  1. Quantify the claim.Translate “water efficient” into gallons per day, annual consumption, peak use, and water-use effectiveness where available.
  2. Match numbers to phases.Early phases and full buildout may have very different water profiles.
  3. Separate supply from discharge.Water source, cooling losses, wastewater, and stormwater should be tracked as separate systems.
Project issue file

Continue the review

Return to the full issue index or inspect the underlying records in the evidence register.

All Project MidSpan issuesEvidence & Sources