Proposed data center seeks wastewater services from Hutto

Iron Mountain officials are planning a data center complex in Central Texas, and are seeking a deal with the city of Hutto for wastewater services.

About the project

During a presentation on March 12, Iron Mountain officials told Hutto City Council the project would feature:

Seven data center buildings with closed-loop water systemsAn electrical substationUtility yardsNew county roads that would be constructed as part of the overall developmentDetention basin to manage stormwaterWhat we know

Although the approximately 500-acre site on CR 404 is in Taylor’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, the project, south of Samsung Austin Semiconductor, is not in a sewer service territory.

However, the property takes up a portion of a tract that was previously approved for what was called the Taylor Meadows Development—a residential project that had an existing wastewater service agreement with the city of Hutto for sanitary sewer service.

The seven data center buildings are expected to use about 30,200 gallons per day for sanitary sewer, according to Iron Mountain.

“That’s significantly less than the portion of the development that would have been residential as part of the Taylor Meadows tract,” Steven Walton, a representative with Iron Mountain, said. “So there would be a decrease in the water demand that was previously provided for that residential demand.”

Zooming in

Walton and Sony David, an engineer with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, asked Hutto City Council if there were any incentive opportunities, such as community parks and city infrastructure projects, that would be of interest to them.

Hutto City Manager James Earp told David and Walton he has several capital improvement projects in mind for Iron Mountain Data Centers.

“It’s not going to be just come and sponsor a clinic—it’s going to be something substantial for us to be willing,” Earp said. “If you were in the city, you would be paying full freight on property taxes.”

Also of note

Iron Mountain owns more than 30 data centers, including those in:

DenverKansas CityPhoenixLondonMadridNotable quote

“The water demand that we’re seeing for the proposed development is relatively minimal,” said Walton. “The intention is to use a recycled water loop for the water chillers that are associated with the data center. So really, the domestic water demand is limited to just toilets and sinks at that point.”