May 24, 2026
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had something to say — and show — this week about one of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta data centers at a recent hearing in Washington D.C.
Ocasio-Cortez held up two mason jars filled with brown water, which she said was drinking water from Morgan County, Georgia, contaminated due to the ongoing construction of a Meta data center.
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She was questioning Jessica Kramer, the Environmental Protection Agency’s assistant administrator for water, at a hearing in the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Ocasio-Cortez said she had recently visited Morgan County, where, since construction of the data center began, families “are starting to see not only their water pressure decrease, [...] but their appliances have all stopped working because it is decimating their water quality,” according to a transcript of the hearing on her website.
“They now rely on bottled water to drink and prepare meals, and nearby residents’ water bills are expected to increase by 33%. In fact, I have a jar right here,” Ocasio-Cortez said, pulling out a jar of muddy, brown water.
Ocasio-Cortez then pulled out a second jar of brown water. “I think both of us can agree that neither one of these things are drinkable,” Ocasio-Cortez said to Kramer.
Ocasio-Cortez reiterated that the affected residents, who live in the rural area, were having to ship in water for cooking and bathing. She then asked Kramer whether the EPA would open any investigations into how data centers were affecting water quality and water availability.
Kramer replied: “As soon as I get back to the office, I will be looking into exactly what you’ve just talked about. Because anywhere, whether it is [...] whatever type of construction it is, it is a priority to ensure that water quality standards established by EPA are being met. And so we’ll be looking into that, certainly.”
Data centers are guzzling water
Meta’s Stanton Springs Data Center is situated at the border of Morgan County and Newton County. A New York Times report from July 2025 details the plight of Newton County residents who live next door to the data center, including taps running dry, appliances breaking and undrinkable, brown water.
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Mike Hopkins, executive director of the Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority, told the Times that the data center consumes about 10% of the county’s total water use daily. Newton County is on track to be in a water deficit by 2030.
Blair Northen, the mayor of Mansfield, a town in Newton County, told the publication that water usage rates are set to increase 33% within the next two years — annual increases are typically 2%.
Hydrologist Newsha Ajami also told the Times that some data centers are so large that, in preparation for their construction, the ground is “dewatered,” which means the groundwater of the surrounding area is pumped out. Areas that are “data center hot spots” such as Texas, Arizona and Louisiana, are facing water issues similar to those in Newton County.
The Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Jasper, Morgan, Newton & Walton Counties manages the industrial park that’s home to Meta’s facilities.
Ben Sheidler, a spokesman for the JDA, told the Times that the cause of the water issues residents had been facing was unknown. “The Joint Development Authority did not do a well water study before construction to determine any potential effects, but the timing of the problems could be a coincidence,” Sheidler said.
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Fast-tracking data center construction
At the congressional hearing, Ocasio-Cortez brought up President Trump’s decision to sign executive orders to fast track data center construction, “when we know that water quality is encountering major issues.”
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She asked Kramer whether there were any mandates for water quality testing to be performed before the construction of data centers.
Kramer replied that she was “not aware of anything like that” though it “might exist.”
Ocasio-Cortez finished by saying that it was “of utmost importance” that congressional investigations into the issue be launched.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has recently proposed a rule that would allow the developers of data centers to begin “pre-construction” before final environmental permits are issued.
Zeldin stated in a release that the EPA’s “definition of ‘Begin Actual Construction’ has imposed constraints on economic development and American ingenuity by slowing down parts of construction projects that pose no impact to human health or the environment.”
The release says that the rule change would allow developers “to start building non-emitting components or structures for essential power generation, data centers, and manufacturing prior to obtaining a major New Source Review (NSR) permit.”
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
