MILWAUKEE WATER COMMONS
DATA CENTERS
FAQ: “Where does Milwaukee Water Commons stand on data centers?”
Every decision about water is ultimately a decision about the kind of future we want. Will our shared waters be managed for the public good or increasingly treated as resources for private profit?
With massive data centers under construction and more on the horizon, the question isn't simply whether they should be built. The deeper questions are about democracy, accountability, and stewardship.
Who decides? Who benefits? Who shoulders the risks? Who pays the costs – financial, social and physical?
Industrial-scale data centers operate around the clock and require enormous amounts of electricity and water, including water needed to generate electricity. The developments in Port Washington and Mt. Pleasant alone could require as much or more electricity than all Wisconsin homes combined. Producing that electricity would also consume vast amounts of water, potentially more than half of Milwaukee's total water use.
We’ve seen this familiar pattern far too often. Powerful corporations profit from public resources while communities are left to absorb the environmental, financial, and public health consequences. Decisions are made with limited transparency, cumulative impacts are overlooked, and residents are offered opportunities to comment only after the biggest decisions have already been made.
Water belongs to all of us. That means decisions about our water should be transparent, science-based, and guided by the people most affected. Environmental reviews must fully account for cumulative water and energy demands. Communities deserve more than symbolic public hearings. They deserve meaningful decision-making power over the resources that sustain their lives.
Wisconsin has an opportunity to chart a different course. We can choose long-term stewardship over short-term profit. We can insist that economic development strengthen, rather than threaten, our water future. And we can build a future where every community has both a voice in the decisions that affect them as well as access to clean, affordable water.
Throughout history, people have come together to protect the places and resources they love. We believe that same spirit can guide us today. When neighbors organize, demand transparency, and stand together for justice, power shifts.
So where does Milwaukee Water Commons stand on data centers? The same place we always stand on issues affecting our waters: firmly on the side of environmental justice.
We're working toward a future where people and planet come before profits and where our common waters remain healthy, accessible and affordable for generations to come.
For clear, comprehensive information on data centers in the Great Lakes region, see the Cooper Center.
