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In a recent commentary, a Native American chief warns us “once underground aquifers are compromised, they cannot be replaced” (“Why Minnesota’s water future matters for everyone,” Dec. 30). According to a 2023 New York Times article, this is a national problem (tinyurl.com/us-groundwater).
Yet money continues to trump protection of water, one of our most precious resources. In January 2024 the Farmington school district sold almost 200 acres for $18 million to a Colorado company with plans to build a dozen data center buildings. Then the city of Farmington completed an annexation of the land and rezoned it to permit this industrial use — actions propelled by an anticipated increase in property tax revenue (“Farmington residents sue over proposed data center,” Dec. 14).
The operation of a medium-size data center requires about 300,000 gallons of water per day, or more than 109 million gallons per year according to the Berkeley National Laboratory.
In June the city of Elko New Market approved permits and a $3 million subsidy to a California company to build a plant to produce millions of plastic bottles of water for sale to Walmart and Costco while using over 300 million gallons of water each year (“Elko New Market OK to pump more water,” June 14). Both projects will draw these enormous amounts of water from the same source — the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer.
A leader of the Farmington opposition laments “we just feel like we’re being steamrolled.” Meanwhile, the state agencies with the mandate to protect our environment turn a blind eye to the long-term cumulative impact of these massive drains on our groundwater.
Michael W. McNabb, Lakeville