Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pressed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer over allegations that construction of a META data center in Georgia contaminated residents’ drinking water.

“I have a jar right here. This is the current drinking water in Morgan County, Georgia, right after a data center was constructed, the Meta data center was constructed. The only difference between the clean water and this was that data center,” the New York Democrat said in a viral clip.

“I have another one as well. So this wasn’t just one well, these weren’t just one family’s situation. This is what the drinking water now looks like next to that data center. And I think both of us can agree that neither one of these things are drinkable. These families now have to ship, in a rural area, have to ship water to their house in order to cook and bathe themselves. Now I’m curious if the EPA plans any investigations on how data centers are affecting water quality and availability. I understood what you said about the rule, but are there going to be any open investigations on this issue?” she continued.

“So 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 whether 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,” Kramer responded.

“I’d also like to ask about the administration’s push to build more data centers by fast tracking construction. Because the administration’s been issuing Executive Orders to fast track data center construction, when we know that water quality is encountering major issues. Are there any mandates for data centers to do water quality testing prior to construction?” Ocasio-Cortez questioned.

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Watch the clip below:

“Two weeks ago, Representative Ocasio-Cortez visited North Georgia where Meta built a massive data center campus. Ten percent of the water used each day by the community goes to this Meta data center. The community is on track for a total water deficit by 2030,” a press release from Ocasio-Cortez’s office read.

“This is what drinking water in Georgia looks like after Meta began data center construction in the community. Today I called for EPA and Congressional investigations into the impact of data center construction on local drinking water supplies. We cannot take water for granted,” she wrote on X.

The Independent shared details on AOC’s Georgia visit:

Trump supporters in rural Georgia say they need help in their fight against a new data center in their town from an unlikely ally – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“If there’s a chance that anything can be done, I feel like she is going to be the one to do it,” says Beverly Morris, in a new short documentary put out by More Perfect Union.

In the new film, the New York Congresswoman travels to Morgan County, Georgia, sixty miles east of Atlanta, to meet with residents who live in the shadow of a new data center being built by tech giant Meta.

Trump won over 70 percent of the vote in Morgan County in the 2024 presidential election.

Ocasio-Cortez, often seen as a poster child for the liberal left and a staunch critic of the president, visits the Morris’s, who live just 400 feet from the 2.5 million square-foot center.

“We need her,” Morris says, noting that families in the area have not been able to access clean water since construction of the center began in 2018.

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In the documentary, Morris shows Ocasio-Cortez a bottle of water from their tap, which is brown and contains a lot of sediment, telling her, “It’s gotten worse.”

“That’s night and day,” the congresswoman replies. “We’ve seen this playbook before from big companies… The only thing that’s changed was that spot opening up across the street.”

Here’s a clip from the documentary:

“I can’t live in my home with half of my home functioning and no water,” Beverly Morris said, according to a BBC report in July 2025.

“I can’t drink the water,” she added.

A viral clip published in March 2025 shows Morris discussing the challenges at her home, which she believes is related to the data center construction.

Meta has denied the two are connected.

Watch the clip below:

BBC reported in July 2025:

She believes the construction of the centre, which is owned by Meta (the parent company of Facebook), disrupted her private well, causing an excessive build-up of sediment. Ms Morris now hauls water in buckets to flush her toilet.

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She says she had to fix the plumbing in her kitchen to restore water pressure. But the water that comes of the tap still has residue in it.

“I’m afraid to drink the water, but I still cook with it, and brush my teeth with it,” says Morris. “Am I worried about it? Yes.”

Meta, however, says the two aren’t connected.

In a statement to the BBC, Meta said that “being a good neighbour is a priority”.

The company commissioned an independent groundwater study to investigate Morris’s concerns. According to the report, its data centre operation did “not adversely affect groundwater conditions in the area”.

While Meta disputes that it has caused the problems with Ms Morris’ water, there’s no doubt, in her estimation, that the company has worn out its welcome as her neighbour.

“This was my perfect spot,” she says. “But it isn’t anymore.”

We tend to think of the cloud as something invisible – floating above us in the digital ether. But the reality is very physical.

The cloud lives in over 10,000 data centres around the world, most of them located in the US, followed by the UK and Germany.

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With AI now driving a surge in online activity, that number is growing fast. And with them, more complaints from nearby residents.

 

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