When Yvonne Cole Boone bought her home in South Fulton in 2018, she envisioned a peaceful retirement surrounded by family and friends, spending her days planting new flowers and fruit in her front-yard garden.
Her house, nestled in an expansive residential community called Oakley Township, is in a neighborhood Boone says her family naturally fits in.
“The neighbors are friendly here in Oakley, and I felt a certain connection because I hadn’t lived in a predominantly Black community since I was a very young person, and it felt like we had a sense of community and a sense of connection,” Boone told Capital B Atlanta.
And although Boone describes the house where she and her family live as the “happiest home” she’s been in, she said that the sights and sounds of massive data centers threaten her and other South Fulton residents’ peaceful existences.
“They’re noisy … they use a tremendous amount of water and electricity,” said Boone, who lives about 6 miles from a proposed 1.9 million-square-foot data center. “We don’t want our tree canopy to be knocked down. We want to think greener. That’s how we were looking at things.”
Boone’s frustration echoes across southern Fulton County, an area made up of predominantly Black cities where at least 20 data centers are being planned. And those frustrations are also cropping up increasingly throughout the state.
From the Atlanta suburbs to rural counties like Monroe and Newton, Georgians are confronting the same scenario: An unchecked data center boom is reshaping communities without their input, draining public resources and deepening long-standing environmental inequities as Black and rural communities bear the brunt of the tech expansion.
Georgia bets big on data centers
In the last few years, Georgia has become one of the fastest-growing destinations for data centers in the country. Lured by tax breaks, cheap land, and access to power, companies like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are snatching up hundreds of acres for sprawling, energy-intensive campuses. A $270 million land deal in Lamar County earlier this year was just one of many.
As the state continues to pitch itself as a top contender for businesses, Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed legislation last year that aimed to end tax breaks for data centers, writing in his veto memo that it would ultimately undermine the business community and inhibit “important infrastructure and job development.”
“They say they’re going to bring jobs, but the jobs that they bring are not the jobs that are actually needed because they’re not sustainable. The construction that comes with building the data center is short lived.”
Andrea Young Jones
Carter Chapman, the press secretary for Kemp’s office, said in an email to Capital B Atlanta that data centers are viewed as “any other economic development project” that chooses to come to Georgia.
“Ultimately, the decision on whether or not these projects move forward ultimately rests with local elected bodies that approve them, with applicable tax credits from the state that are available to any competitive project,” said Chapman.
For many residents, the promised benefits of data centers, like jobs and economic development, have yet to materialize.
“They say they’re going to bring jobs, but the jobs that they bring are not the jobs that are actually needed because they’re not sustainable,” said Andrea Young Jones, an environmental policy advocate and South Fulton resident. “The construction that comes with building the data center is short lived. Then also what is needed to run the center, lots of manpower, is not necessary… The jobs that you think are going to be able to come won’t be there.”
Source: Data Centre Dynamics; DataCenters.com
Of additional concern for residents, these facilities are not low-impact. Science for Georgia, an advocacy group, estimates that as of February, all the current and planned data centers in the state would require the same amount of energy that it takes to power around 3.9 million homes.
Data centers also need massive amounts of water to operate so that air-conditioning can continuously run to keep the computers inside the facility from overheating. Science for Georgia estimates that all current data centers in the state require around 27 billion gallons of water a year to operate, which the group says is enough water to sustain the entire city of Athens, Georgia, for five years.
This rapid growth comes as Georgia’s utilities are already under pressure. Georgia Power recently projected a need for 8,200 additional megawatts of electricity to meet future demand over the next six years, which is largely due to industrial expansion, including the data center sector. These infrastructure demands are reshaping not just Georgia’s energy strategy, but the financial and environmental future of residents across the state.
A legacy of environmental injustice
On Sept. 22, dozens of residents from South Fulton and Union City gathered at the Etris Community Center to discuss concerns about the data centers being planned for their neighborhoods.
Residents of various demographics — men and women, the young and the elderly — asked questions about the environmental impacts, the approval process, and how they can fight back.
Over the course of this year, Wanda Mosley, deputy policy director for the Black Voters Matter Fund and a community organizer, has been gathering residents to share information on data centers being voted on in the area.
Mosley told Capital B Atlanta that residents have struggled to find out about proposed zoning changes for data center developments, much less organize to oppose them, which is why she and other organizers have been working to inform people.
“Union City is very late in sending out information,” said Mosley. “By the time we find out about a data center, it’s often a done deal.”
The southern portion of Fulton County, which is home to majority Black cities like South Fulton, Union City, and Fairburn, is no stranger to environmental burdens. This portion of the county has long been a hot spot for development projects, warehouses, and heavy industry that residents say cities in the far northern part of the county have the power to reject.
Now, many see the arrival of data centers as more of the same but at the hands of a new industry: big tech companies.
“The city needs to think about the history of environmental racism, because it plays a role here,” Boone said. “All of this stuff is coming to frontline communities. We’re the ones who are taking the brunt of this. It’s not just Black: it’s poor, it’s marginalized people, it’s people that they believe to be voiceless.”
In southern Fulton County, advocates predict consequences to these developments will include rising water and energy use in a region already grappling with aging infrastructure. And yet, data centers, some of the most water-reliant buildings in the modern economy, continue to break ground there.
Mosley believes local governments often lean on the excuse that they can’t deny development if it complies with current zoning. But she says that misses the point.
“These projects start as rezoning requests,” she said. “That’s where the city has the power to say no. If they approve it and try to walk it back later, sure, they risk lawsuits. But the real question is why they approved it in the first place.”
“We’re being used as a dumping ground. The people who approve these projects don’t live near them. They don’t hear the trucks, or see the damage to sidewalks, or deal with the traffic. We do.”
Wanda Mosley
She also blames outdated zoning decisions from decades ago, when the area was still unincorporated and under Fulton County control. She said that industrial zones were placed far too close to residential neighborhoods, and now residents are paying the price.
“We’re being used as a dumping ground,” said Mosley. “The people who approve these projects don’t live near them. They don’t hear the trucks, or see the damage to sidewalks, or deal with the traffic. We do.”
Chris Manganiello, water policy director at Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, has been sounding the alarm about the water impact of data centers across the state.
“These facilities can use millions of gallons of water a day, and a lot of that water evaporates into the air,” he said.
According to Manganiello, Project Sail, a massive proposed data center in Coweta County that is in the process of being acquired by a supply chain company, could consume up to 6 million gallons of water per day by full build-out, but only about a third of that returns to the system as wastewater. The rest evaporates during the cooling process.
“These buildings have to stay under 85 degrees 24/7, so they’re using water constantly,” said Manganiello.
For residents in south Fulton County who are still waiting for sewer upgrades, the fear isn’t just about water usage. It’s about collapse. A decades-old regional water and sewer authority that oversees the water supply for the cities of Fairburn, Palmetto, and Union City is likely going to be tasked with navigating the future impacts data centers have on the area’s water infrastructure as more of the planned tech projects come to fruition.
But Manganiello said the group is struggling to find direction, identify partners, and address funding needs.
“I’ve just been really fascinated by the fact that all these data centers announced intend to build new projects in the southern part of the county. With me knowing that the water system does not appear to be the most reliable and for data centers that need water 24/7, 365 days a year… I’m always a little surprised at these facts,” said Manganiello.
One community that’s currently experiencing water troubles because of data centers is Newton County. Manganiello said that the construction of a Meta data center has been linked to failing private wells, and now residents say sediment and dirt are flowing from their faucets.
He suspects that blasting and land grading during construction have altered underground rock formations and water flow, ultimately damaging the wells of residents who live close to the data center. Though Meta denies affecting local water supplies, he said that no explanation has been offered for the water quality issues next door.
“This is what happens when there’s no oversight,” Manganiello said. “These facilities are huge. They change the landscape above and below ground.”
Drew de Man, a South Fulton resident, told Capital B Atlanta that all the neighbors in his section of the city live on farmland and use private wells. He said while he’s not surprised about the situation in Newton County, he’s fearful of something like that happening to his community.
“I find it incredibly alarming and concerning,” said de Man. “I know that if that were to happen around us, it would definitely impact my entire community.”
In order to meet water demand from data centers, Manganiello predicts that the region will need to expand its infrastructure. As utilities expand, rates will rise. Manganiello warns that these increases, both in water and energy, will hit local residents hardest.
“Residential customers are going to get squeezed both on the electrical bill and then potentially in the water bill as water rates rise, inevitably, as they always do,” said Manganiello.
If utility rates rise as a result of data center growth, Black Georgians could experience extra financial burdens, as they already face economic barriers when it comes to energy.
Black households in Georgia consistently face higher “energy burdens” compared to white households due to less energy-efficient homes, historic disinvestment, and discrimination.
And while South Fulton residents are raising alarms, they’re far from alone.
New hopes for reform
Across Georgia, communities are responding. In 2024, residents in Adair Park in Atlanta were able to get Atlanta City Council members to block a zoning ordinance that would have allowed data centers to be built in their community.
In recent months, Manganiello said Monroe County saw over 900 people turn out to oppose a rezoning for a proposed data center; meanwhile, Troup County held public meetings on data centers attended by hundreds of concerned citizens.
Manganiello also said at least three counties have enacted temporary moratoriums on new data center development, and multiple cities and counties are now drafting ordinances to better regulate data centers.
“There’s a clear statewide concern,” said Manganiello. “This isn’t just in urban areas like Atlanta, but this is happening in rural parts of the state, too.”
Until recently, data centers were approved through a state process called Developments of Regional Impact, which provided planners and the public with some data about water usage and infrastructure needs for future projects.
Earlier this year, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs temporarily paused data center review through the DRI process, resulting in less transparency regarding the impacts future data centers would have on residents.
The DCA has since reversed course and is now looking to create a specific category for data centers in the DRI framework.
Several bills introduced during this year’s legislative session sought to rein in the industry. One would have required water and energy use disclosures for companies receiving tax breaks, and another, SB 34, proposed by state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, aimed to make large electricity users pay for grid expansions.
“I think we’re all — Georgia Power, the Public Service Commission, the data centers, myself — I think we all are kind of looking at the same goals,” said Hufstetler during this year’s legislative session. “It’s just making sure that we’ve got everything tightened up to where we do protect the consumers of Georgia.”
None of the bills passed.
A newly created Special Committee on Resource Management, convened by Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, has held hearings throughout the summer. Manganiello was invited to testify about the water impacts of data centers, and he believes the committee’s final report may recommend stronger rules.
While state leaders continue to hash out how they want to regulate data centers, the struggle is the same on the local level.
Linda Pritchett, a South Fulton City Council member, told Capital B Atlanta that while she considers revenue for the city to be the biggest benefit coming from data centers, the council is cognizant of residents’ concerns.
“I don’t think that we need to rush to continue building up data centers because of the fact that we have a lot of raw land, or we have land space that other areas don’t have. So I think amongst the council, some members are concerned to the extent that they would like to put a moratorium on data centers,” said Pritchett.
In June, South Fulton approved an ordinance that laid out specific criteria for future data center projects related to noise levels and distance from residential areas. In August, the council approved a new data center project for the city.
A June announcement about the project on the city’s website said that the proposed data center could generate $7 million to $10 million in revenue that would “help support parks, public services, and community programs for the community.”
Despite the concerns, residents like Boone and Young Jones insist their message is not anti-tech, but rather about transparency and having a say in the matter.
What they, and many others, reject is a future where data centers are quietly built in the shadows, leaving communities to clean up the mess.
As Georgia charges forward into the next digital age, rural towns and urban Black communities are being asked to carry the weight — often without being informed about the risks.
“We deserve better. We’re going to demand better,” said Boone.
