Cheyenne, Wyoming officials report that a rare bacterial contamination found in parts of the city’s wastewater system is linked to a nearby Meta data center campus. The contamination affects the city’s water recycling operations and leads to temporary shutdowns of water reclamation facilities. According to local authorities, two of Cheyenne’s water reclamation plants are taken offline for several months, including the Dry Creek and Crow Creek plants, during the cleanup and investigation.
Cheyenne’s Board of Public Utilities states it permanently stops accepting industrial wastewater from similar cooling systems, aiming to prevent recurrence. Officials say the city is also reviewing how much capacity existing facilities have to handle wastewater associated with data center construction and operations.
Officials identified the Meta data center project as the source after tracing the contamination to wastewater connected to the project. Business Insider and Times of India both report the contamination is tied to the Meta campus, while Times of India adds details about facility shutdowns and the board’s policy change regarding industrial wastewater from comparable cooling systems.
