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Right, but

> The Google aquifer permit application states it will reuse water before eventually discharging it to the sewer system, but the company did not provide details when asked by The Post and Courier.

And 2 paragraphs down

> Groundwater can be returned to the aquifer after use, but some is lost to evaporation and the operation is costly, according to industry sources. There are other alternatives. The National Security Agency cools its Fort Meade, Maryland data center with treated wastewater, touted as an environmental boon and cost savings compared to tap water or aquifer pumping.

So basically Google is going to draw aquifer water, probably reuse it and potentially just flush the water into the the sewer system.



This is why skepticism is warranted whenever politicians and business people bemoan environmental regulations.

Alphabet management bears no cost and gives no shits about contributing to aquifer depletion in South Carolina. Of course the people running South Carolina probably don't either!


I wonder why they don't just pump the heated water back down into the aquifer. That would make it basically an open-loop geothermal heat pump.


This almost certainly has some negative environmental effects.




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