Council Member Chad Seidel, President of Corona Environmental Consulting, recently joined the Make Water Work Podcast to discuss water system resilience, public health priorities, and the long-term implications of infrastructure decisions tied to growth and economic development.
During the episode, Chad addressed the increasing attention on data centers and water use. While much of the public discussion focuses on how much water these facilities require today, he emphasized that the greater risk may emerge later, after demand changes. When utilities expand infrastructure to serve large industrial customers, they can be left with oversized systems if technology improves, operations shift, or facilities relocate.
Chad noted that this dynamic is not new. Communities that have experienced industrial decline have often been left responsible for maintaining more pipes, treatment capacity, and fixed infrastructure than remaining customers can reasonably support. From a public health standpoint, underutilized and aging systems can become harder to operate effectively over time.
Rather than treating data centers as a short-term capacity challenge, Seidel encouraged utilities and community leaders to evaluate projects across their full lifecycle. Planning for the “after” — including long-term financial and operational impacts — is essential to protecting infrastructure investments and public health.
Water system resilience, public health protection, and sustaining what communities have built may define the next era of drinking water policy.
Listen to Chad’s perspective on all of it here.