Meta AI Data Center Linked To Rare Bacteria In City’s Water System
Meta AI Data Center Linked To Rare Bacteria In City’s Water System
Publish Date: 2026-07-09 16:45:00
Source Domain: www.forbes.com
An AI data center under construction for has contaminated a local City’s water supply with a rare bacteria.
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As the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) expands worldwide, companies are scrambling to construct data centers to keep up with soaring demand for services. Much has been reported about how these data centers use significant quantities of water for cooling, but a recent incident in Wyoming has highlighted a new concern for local water supplies.
In the City of Cheyenne near the border with Colorado, a rare bacterium called Cupriavidus gilardii was detected in the City’s reclaimed water system in February after wastewater from the construction and commissioning of a Meta AI data center entered the city’s wastewater network. The finding resulted in a temporary shutdown of parts of the system while officials carried out remediation work.
Cupriavidus gilardii is an environmental bacterium found in soil and water, and reported infections are rare. When infections do occur, they have generally involved people with significant underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems. Like many environmental bacteria, some strains can be resistant to multiple antibiotics if people are infected, meaning finding effective treatments can be challenging.
The incident occurred during “fill-and-flush” operations, a process used to clean and prepare large cooling systems before they become operational. Officials were keen to stress that the bacterium was never found in drinking water, only water used for irrigation and other non-potable purposes. But despite this, there was concern that residents could be exposed to the bacteria through inhaling aerosolized droplets where the water was used, for example in parks and golf courses.
Quoted in Business Insider, a Meta spokesperson said the company was working with its contractor Fortis to rectify the issue.
“When the board shared that it found a substance in the city’s wastewater — not public drinking water —…
