ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Water use is a consistent concern among those worried about data centers.

With two centers now proposed in Allentown, the Lehigh County Authority is speaking out about how it would handle the demand

The LCA says 26 million gallons of water per day flow through its system. Despite being in drought conditions and having asked customers to scale back at times, officials say data centers, at least for their system, don’t pose a major threat.

“My high school natatorium, that’s what this smells like. You are taking me back to high school and the pool,” 69 News Reporter Bo Koltnow said.

“Start doing some laps in here,” Taylor Stakes, Director of Communications & Strategic Partnerships, joked.

The LCA is stocked with its own pools of treated water and is where 26 million gallons of water flow daily to various customers.

“Our engineers prefer to pull water from the Little Lehigh Creek. Okay, it’s easier to process. But in times of drought, you can see right now it’s pretty low, even though it is flowing,” Stakes said.

Currently the LCA is in drought warning status.

“It’s almost a Catch-22. You know, how can we ask people to conserve water in a drought when also we see new development coming into the region?” Stakes explained.

That Catch-22 could grow as data centers may soon become customers. There’s currently two proposed in Allentown.

“You’re not going to see a data center come to Allentown if LCA can’t provide that water. It’s not going to happen,” Stakes said.

Started in 1928, the Lehigh County Authority gets its water from a variety of sources.

Stakes says it uses about half the amount compared to the 60’s and 70’s when heavy manufacturing dominated the area.

However, he adds there are facilities that currently use 1-2 million gallons per day, much more than a proposed data center.

“The health of the water supply with Lehigh County Authority is what?” Bo asked.

“Excellent. There is plenty of water, you know. But again, water is not an infinite resource,” Stakes responded.

In regard to its drought warning status and when asking people to conserve water, Stakes says that’s really to ease the stress from their system as it’s harder to filter and clean the water when levels are low.