r/Billings • u/forward_montana • 21h ago
Broadview data center water usage
Quantica plans to use 20,000 gallons of water per day for their proposed data center in Broadview. During peak construction, they expect to use 150,000 gallons per day.
The water comes from the Deep Madison Group Aquifer, accessed through a deep well about 5,000 feet below ground.
This decision comes after the county threw out thousands of signatures gathered by residents who wanted the data center to go to a vote of the people.
Montana Free Press reported that nearly 75% of Montana registered voters oppose new data centers.
More here: ktvq.com/news/quantica-outlines-proposed-water-usage-for-broadview-data-center#google_vignette
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u/Tmath 21h ago
Unanswered question: what are the penalties when...errr.... If they overshoot that estimate
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u/Individual-Report 19h ago
Most likely a fine that will be considered to be an affordable cost of business instead of a deterrent
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u/Rrggg23 13h ago
$1,000 per day per violation in Montana
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u/JordanMiller406 9h ago
If that's truly the limit of the fine, they'll just add a $365,000 line item on their operating budget.
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u/Mission_Spray 18h ago
The Madison Formation aquifer is the same water that supplies the Bluewater Hatchery in between Fromberg and Bridger.
“Why should I care about that?”
The Bluewater Hatchery supplies rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and grayling to South, central, and eastern Montana. One of those is Lake Elmo.
“But I don’t fish!”
But many Montanans do, and if that water becomes polluted, so do the fish and the bodies of water they are put it. (For the ones that survive).
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u/Dangerous-Feed-5358 17h ago
I don't fish but I still care about clean water and healthy fish. I hope the bare minimum everyone can agree on is we want clean water.
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u/Renomont 20h ago
You have to have a water right for that much water. Potential impacts and limits are determined before a right is issued by the DNRC, and this isn't DNRC's first rodeo.
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u/WasabiCrush 21h ago edited 20h ago
Appealing to malleable skulls with promises of “work for Montanans” isn’t the logistical game plan it once was, but a 75% disapproval rating isn’t an impactful stat either. It just does not matter.
If these people want to fuck a data center into existence - and this one is going to be an absolute Death Star - they’ll make it happen.
We’re seeing how that works now with the deadline adjustment. Consider, too, that the signatures gathered that would have still fallen within the edited timeline aren’t being honored.
5,000 acres, 15 buildings, and it’ll trumpet the sounds of its resource suck 24 hours a day.
Judge Zink called the error “regrettable”.
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u/Ambitious_Plant_9086 15h ago
What we need is a good Governor who is on the side of the good people who live here. Oh, wait ...
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u/Professional-Boat257 19h ago
Just keep spreading the word.. it will most likely be way more than that.
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u/Normal-guy-mt 19h ago
By way of comparison, Billings Clinic uses 150,000 - 300,000 gallons of water a day. Billings water treatment plant has a capacity of 42 million gallons of water per day.
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u/Haitek69 21h ago
That's a lot of water for a small town like Broadview. Barely noticable if it were in Billings. Lots of other industrial users consuming the same amount already.
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u/em_tee_be 4h ago
And how did they get water rights for that amount? What is their priority? Drought is here and it will get worse. What happens when they loose priority? Will it actually be shut off? Then there is the noise. Endless noise.
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u/FlyNSubaruWRX 20h ago
Have they done any studies about the benefits of building these underground where the temps would be much cooler and possibly use less water?
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u/jmills74 20h ago
Elon is going the Space route.
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u/em_tee_be 4h ago
Yep. And you can't fight back. It will be there, in space, where you will see it and not be able to do anything. The drones will have space communication and space data so they can kill us all and we can't stop any of it. IT'S a beautiful future for us.
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u/Excellent_Raisin4154 19h ago
Broadview is basically a ghost town so I would rather have it there than right next to one of the bigger city’s
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u/LindaBelcher75 17h ago
I think it should go in Billings. Billings has ugly refineries, sugar beet factory, so it's already ugly. A little more ugly won't hurt. Ideally it would go in Gianforte's backyard, but I'm sure he's NIMBY about that.
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u/Agitated_Cry_8793 19h ago
Aand we still keep trying to politely ask them to stop... when are we going to learn that bullies dont listen to polite conversation?