Town Expands To Boost Cooling For NSA Data Center

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday March 9, 2011 @10:35AM from the you-have-been-asimilated dept.

1sockchuck writes "A substantial water supply is critical for most large data centers. A case in point: Officials in Bluffdale, Utah have agreed to annex land housing a new $1.2 billion data center for the National Security Agency. The move makes the NSA a higher priority customer for Bluffdale's water utility, which prevents its water supply from a potential cutoff in the event of a water shortage — which would be a problem, since water will be used extensively in the data center's cooling system. Many large data centers have been working to reduce their water use to make them more sustainable and reliable."

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Re:Utah water supply by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-03-09 10:59 · Score: 5, Insightful

One does wonder why the NSA chose that particular climate to build a big, water-hungry datacenter...(and what inducements the town leadership accepted for the... good fortune... of having its water allocated to the NSA first and its citizens second.)
Re:Utah water supply by h4rr4r · 2011-03-09 11:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

Why do you have lawns then?
Having lawns in places that would need a lawn to be watered is a braindead idea.
Do I smell Orrin Hatch? by MarkvW · 2011-03-09 11:21 · Score: 4, Insightful

Why would you locate something that demands cooling resources in the MIDDLE OF A DESERT?
Because an influential Senator wants the facility there, perhaps?