Data centers coming to Allentown? LCA says there’s plenty of water — but it’s not infinite | Allentown Area

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Water use has been a consistent concern for people worried about the growth of data centers.

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

At the LCA, about 26 million gallons of water flow through the system each day to customers across the region.

Taylor Stakes, the authority’s director of communications and strategic partnerships, said engineers prefer to pull water from the Little Lehigh Creek because it is easier to process.

“But in times of drought, you can see right now it’s pretty low, even though it is flowing,” Stakes said.

The LCA is currently in a drought warning status and has asked customers to conserve water.

Stakes said that request is meant to ease stress on the system because lower water levels make the water harder to filter and clean.

“It’s almost a catch-22,” Stakes said. “How can we ask people to conserve water in a drought when also we see new development coming into the region?”

For the Lehigh County Authority, that new development could include providing water for data centers.

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

The Lehigh County Authority started in 1928 and uses a variety of water sources, including the Little Lehigh.

Stakes said the system is currently moving about 26 million gallons of water a day, roughly half of what flowed through the system during the 1960s and 1970s, when the area had a heavier manufacturing base.

She said some existing facilities already use 1 million to 2 million gallons of water per day, which is much more than what a proposed data center would use.

Asked about the overall health of the LCA’s water supply, Stakes said it is strong.

“Excellent,” she said. “There is plenty of water.”

Stakes said the drought conservation request is not because the system is running out of water, but because conserving helps reduce stress when water levels are low and harder to treat.