As Data Centers Threaten Alaska, Residents Struggle With High Electrical Rates & Hauling Water

COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL WATER-GUZZLING DATA CENTERS ARE NOT READING THE ROOM IN ALASKA In Alaska, Where Basics Are Hard To Come By, L...

COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL

WATER-GUZZLING DATA CENTERS ARE
NOT READING THE ROOM IN ALASKA

In Alaska, Where Basics Are Hard To Come By, Large Data Centers Using Massive Amounts Of Electricity & Water Seems Uncaring, Incongruous... And Plain Greedy

Kevin Mondor drove over 30 miles one-way to Tazlina's community well to take home water. This photo, taken in July 2020, shows the Tazlina pump house. The cost was a dollar for 3 minutes of water through the hose. (Country Journal archive photo)

The state of Alaska, like much of America, is apparently on the cusp of turning over large tracts of land to data centers. The centers have enormous energy and water requirements that, even in sophisticated states, seem problematic. Data centers need huge amounts of water and power, are noisy, and heat up the surrounding countryside.

In Alaska, there is talk of data centers on three military bases -- in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Anderson. There's also discussion of a data center on the North Slope.

Meanwhile, for many rural Alaskans, the basics of daily life are hard to come by. This is especially true about clean drinking water.

Here's a look at the reality of how many rural Alaskans, across the state, get their water…

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REAL LIFE

Water Hauling In Alaska

Getting Water Home

Water hauling is a huge problem in rural Alaska. It doesn't matter where you live; many people don't have running water from central water supplies or wells. This is true even in the city of Fairbanks, where 'dry' (i.e. waterless) cabins are rented out to college students who go to school at the nearby University of Alaska.

In many parts of the state along the road system, entrepreneurs set up small pump houses over their wells, and charge by the gallon with coin-operated timers. The simplest system is to load 5-gallon jugs. Or, there are large water containers that fit into the back of a pickup and are made so the water won't slosh out when it's transported back home. On arriving home, the water is pumped back out of the container and into another container, inside the warm house. Hauling water is an arduous task, often done in the middle of the night, at subzero temperatures.

Rain water is used to water remote gardens. Gardeners use techniques as simple as placing buckets in the rain, or may use roof-top collection systems.

Owning A Well

Some lucky individuals have wells, but the cost to drill to clean and safe water is quite expensive. To reach water in Alaska, some wells have to go down over 200 feet deep through rocky terrain. There are many occasions when water isn't found.