by Jeff Rottman and Will McDaniel
Future data centers in San Angelo continue to be a focus for city council members as they work to adopt several land-use regulations for the controversial business operations during their meeting on May 19.
Council will hold a joint meeting with the planning commission ahead of the regular meeting.
On the regular agenda, Item E is a second reading of ordinances adopting regulations for the centers through a conditional-use process within the light manufacturing and heavy manufacturing zoning districts, and to amend several articles of the ordinance. Planning and Development Services Director Aaron Vannoy will make the presentation.
Water Utilities Director John Kaufman will present agenda Items F and G, as the council hears first readings and public hearings concerning proposed amendments and additions to regulations related to wastewater discharge, sewer service, and water service.
About The Water and Sewer Regulations
Along with a second reading and possible approval of the final landscaping requirements for data centers, council will consider amending the city’s utility ordinance to place restrictions on municipal water draw and future sewer use.
Any conditional use data center in San Angelo would not be allowed to draw more than eight gallons of water per square foot of gross building area. This limit was lowered from the previous draft ordinance, which set the requirement at no more than 15 gallons per square foot.
This means that the facility could draw up to 80,000 gallons per 10,000 square feet over a three year period, replenishing up to 6 percent of the cooling systems total volume annually.
The ordinance does provide exceptions for additional water use in the event that an unexpected water loss threatened the infrastructure within the data center, in which case the data center would be required to alert the city within 72 hours of the draw. The center would be required to notify the city 48 hours before any draw on the city’s water system.
As for what happens to the water after that three year period, or in the event of an unexpected drain; “Planned discharge events require written notification to the Director of Water Utilities at least 72 hours prior to discharge. Emergency discharge events must be reported to the Director of Water Utilities
within 4 hours of occurrence, and a written incident report must be submitted within 7
days detailing the discharge volume, analytical results, and corrective actions taken”.
Water that would be discharged would be required to meet standards for disposed wastewater.
On the consent agenda for this meeting:
- An amended resolution authorizing the San Angelo Police Department to apply for and accept a grant from the Office of the Governor for Victim Assistance in the amount of $99,203.86, which includes a 20-percent local match.
- An amended resolution for the San Angelo Police Department to apply for and accept a grant from the Office of the Governor for Criminal Justice Training, totaling $38,949, which does not have a matching requirement.
The meeting will begin at 8:35 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, at the McNease Convention Center, 501 Rio Concho Drive. Meetings are live streamed on the city’s YouTube Channel, and on SATV (Optimum channel 17).
