A council has received objections to development plans for an AI data centre due to concerns about water supply.
Water company Anglian Water has called on North Lincolnshire Council to oppose the planning application for the country’s largest data centre, Elsham Tech Park.
Emphasising the East of England’s status as the ‘driest part of the country’, Anglian Water has argued there is an ‘acute’ issue surrounding water availability for non-household contexts.
Anglian Water has also warned about the risk of pollution and flooding due to the scheme’s potential to overburden the sewer system.
An Anglian Water spokesperson said: ‘Water resources for industrial growth, such as new data centres, can be particularly difficult to forecast. The nature of this type of growth means it’s difficult to predict how much water might be needed in the future, and where in our region it will be needed.’
‘Given the pressure we’re seeing on water resources, it’s important we carefully consider where we use treated drinking water, so we can keep customers’ taps flowing for years to come’, they added.
North Lincolnshire Council is unable to comment on the application as it is currently in the planning process.
