Virginia JLARC Study: Most Data Centers Use No More Water Than a Large Office Building

GlenBradley · x · 2026-09-04

Virginia's JLARC, a nonpartisan legislative audit body, published a major study of the data center industry: Northern Virginia holds 13% of global reported capacity. Most data centers use about the same water as an average large office building; a typical 250,000-sq-ft facility employs 50 full-time workers (half contract) with 1,500 construction jobs at peak; data-center taxes range from under 1% to 31% of local revenue, with economic benefits concentrated in construction spending.

Related event: Virginia State Study Finds Data Center Water Use Comparable to Office Buildings(2 posts)→

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