I can’t believe it: a ragebait screenshot with a mix of accurate and inaccurate details that make a bad situation look even worse. You all have frontal lobes, fellow apes. Use them to think critically, because there’s a REASON memes like this want you to react emotionally and it’s not in your best interests at all.
Tl;dr: the data center’s usage is an issue, the local governments that facilitate and even encourage this behaviour are arguably even worse.
Truth: this shit hole data center used 30M gallons of water over the course of several months without being billed for it.
Rage Bait: they did it “illegally.”
Truth: the data center fully intended and was allowed by local government to use that water in the course of its construction, but weren’t billed because they didn’t inform the local utility of one water hookup, and the utility cocked up by ignoring the usage for that hookup and failed to bill the center for the usage on its second hookup. The data center did exceed their usage limits, but that’s not illegal: they simply pay penalties for the overage. The local utility waived these penalties because they’re spineless.
Rage Bait: the exceedance caused a drop in water pressure.
Truth: the locals experiencing water pressure drops receive their water from groundwater while the data center uses surface water. Given groundwater recharge rates are painfully slow, the data center’s usage did not cause the issue, though the pressure complaints led to the investigation that found the billing issues.
Except contextually that makes no sense. The utility was already aware the data center would be using the water, they simply cocked up the process. Theft of service is utilizing a service with no intent to ever pay. It’s clear that wasn’t the case here.
Understand, I’m not defending the data center. I hope the damned thing burns to the ground. I just have this quirk where I care about the truth of situations, not exaggerating every possible angle so we can pretend it’s worse than it truly is. That’s the kind of hysterics the US and many other legal systems engage in, exaggerating charges to maximize penalties against their citizens, instead of seeking the truth of the matter. It’s wrong when they do it, and it’s just as wrong when we do it.
The utility was already aware the data center would be using the water
So that means I can ask for an electric hookup, and then tap a second hookup without telling the electric company and it’s not illegal. If I get caught, no arrest, no fine, just pay back what I used before getting caught.
What makes it particularly suspicious is that they used more water than they agreed to. So we have a situation where they didn’t tell the water utility about one hookup AND used more than they agreed to. I wonder why they didn’t mention the extra hookup?
It has been clarified that the hookup wasn’t without the knowledge of the utility, it was a failure of a new transmitter/verifying they were getting readings.
I work in this realm and as soon as I read the quotes from the utility in the first batch of articles it was immediately clear that people who didn’t have all the information were responding to inquiries. Your average utility employee, even in admin functions have zero media training. If I had a penny for every time I had to deal with the fallout of some ambitious comment that was taken out of context by the media or public, I’d have several pennies.
Your linked article references the account that was known but not billed. Ars Technica references both that account and a second account that wasn’t known and wasn’t billed.
Even the first account was illegal in that water usage exceeded the original water limits agreement.
I can’t believe it: a ragebait screenshot with a mix of accurate and inaccurate details that make a bad situation look even worse. You all have frontal lobes, fellow apes. Use them to think critically, because there’s a REASON memes like this want you to react emotionally and it’s not in your best interests at all.
Tl;dr: the data center’s usage is an issue, the local governments that facilitate and even encourage this behaviour are arguably even worse.
Truth: this shit hole data center used 30M gallons of water over the course of several months without being billed for it.
Rage Bait: they did it “illegally.”
Truth: the data center fully intended and was allowed by local government to use that water in the course of its construction, but weren’t billed because they didn’t inform the local utility of one water hookup, and the utility cocked up by ignoring the usage for that hookup and failed to bill the center for the usage on its second hookup. The data center did exceed their usage limits, but that’s not illegal: they simply pay penalties for the overage. The local utility waived these penalties because they’re spineless.
Rage Bait: the exceedance caused a drop in water pressure.
Truth: the locals experiencing water pressure drops receive their water from groundwater while the data center uses surface water. Given groundwater recharge rates are painfully slow, the data center’s usage did not cause the issue, though the pressure complaints led to the investigation that found the billing issues.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/data-center-used-30-million-gallons-of-water-without-initially-paying/
^^ That’s the illegal part.
When a consumer hooks up a utility without informing the utility, that is “theft of services” and they are arrested.
https://www.4029tv.com/article/fort-smith-stealing-electricity/71286214
Except contextually that makes no sense. The utility was already aware the data center would be using the water, they simply cocked up the process. Theft of service is utilizing a service with no intent to ever pay. It’s clear that wasn’t the case here.
Understand, I’m not defending the data center. I hope the damned thing burns to the ground. I just have this quirk where I care about the truth of situations, not exaggerating every possible angle so we can pretend it’s worse than it truly is. That’s the kind of hysterics the US and many other legal systems engage in, exaggerating charges to maximize penalties against their citizens, instead of seeking the truth of the matter. It’s wrong when they do it, and it’s just as wrong when we do it.
So that means I can ask for an electric hookup, and then tap a second hookup without telling the electric company and it’s not illegal. If I get caught, no arrest, no fine, just pay back what I used before getting caught.
What makes it particularly suspicious is that they used more water than they agreed to. So we have a situation where they didn’t tell the water utility about one hookup AND used more than they agreed to. I wonder why they didn’t mention the extra hookup?
It has been clarified that the hookup wasn’t without the knowledge of the utility, it was a failure of a new transmitter/verifying they were getting readings.
https://thecitizen.com/2026/05/11/behind-fayettes-qts-water-controversy-a-missed-meter-8000-workers-and-a-massive-construction-project/
I work in this realm and as soon as I read the quotes from the utility in the first batch of articles it was immediately clear that people who didn’t have all the information were responding to inquiries. Your average utility employee, even in admin functions have zero media training. If I had a penny for every time I had to deal with the fallout of some ambitious comment that was taken out of context by the media or public, I’d have several pennies.
“One water connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and the other was not linked to the company’s account and therefore wasn’t being billed,” Politico reported. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/data-center-used-30-million-gallons-of-water-without-initially-paying/
Your linked article references the account that was known but not billed. Ars Technica references both that account and a second account that wasn’t known and wasn’t billed.
Even the first account was illegal in that water usage exceeded the original water limits agreement.