Data Center Cooling Technology and Water Demand Traditional evaporative cooling systems used by many data centers can consume between 1 and 5 million gallons of water per day for large facilities. In contrast, newer closed-loop liquid cooling and dry cooling technologies can reduce on-site water consumption by 70% or more, with some advanced designs approaching zero water use for cooling.
Indiantown’s new $46 million reverse osmosis plant appears sized to support the higher water demands of traditional evaporative cooling systems rather than the more water-efficient technologies now available. This raises questions about whether the infrastructure was designed primarily to serve existing residents or to accommodate future large-scale industrial users operating with older, more water-intensive cooling methods — all while the majority of local residents have expressed clear opposition to such development.
The new reverse osmosis plant was not sized primarily to meet the needs of Indiantown’s existing residents. A 9 MGD facility could serve a community 9–13 times larger than Indiantown’s current population. This strongly indicates the plant was designed with significant excess capacity to support large-scale industrial development — particularly hyperscale data centers — rather than to serve the current rural population.
Capacity and Cost Implications The new reverse osmosis plant was sized well beyond Indiantown’s current residential needs. With a population of roughly 6,700, current average water demand is likely in the range of 0.7–1.5 million gallons per day. A $46 million municipal RO facility is typically designed with capacity in the 3–6 MGD range. This suggests that 60% or more of the plant’s capacity represents headroom for future large industrial users rather than existing residents.
While the capital cost was largely covered by state funding, the significantly higher operating costs of reverse osmosis (energy, membrane replacement, and brine disposal) will be borne by ratepayers over time. These costs are estimated to be 1.8 to 3.5 times higher than those of a conventional groundwater treatment system. As a result, Indiantown residents are likely to face substantially higher long-term water rates to support infrastructure primarily sized to enable future industrial development — development that many in the community have actively opposed.
This paper examines how three individuals with documented close ties to the Governor — Josh Kellam (President of The Garcia Companies and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission appointee), Kevin Powers (former Vice Chair of the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board), and Taryn Kryzda (former Martin County Administrator and interim Indiantown Village Manager) — facilitated access and relationships that appear to have influenced both the amount and the speed of funding awarded.