ALBAWABA - Goat Systems LLC, a Meta affiliated data center, released a deadly bacteria into the water of Cheyenne, Wyoming after fill-and-flush swill was dumped into waste water.
Fill-and-flush is the process by which data centers flood their cooling systems with water before turning on for the first time. After the data center’s violation, local officials are revoking waste-dumping privileges for every data center connected to water service with the Cheyenne board imposing a complete ban on flush-and-fill discharge.
The deadly bacteria, identified as Cupriavidus gilardii, was traced to the data center after a months-long investigation into how it got into the water - with the origin point of the virus within the facility still unknown.
The bacteria was first detected during a routine fecal contamination test, according to Frank Strong, Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities engineering and water resource division manager.
“This isn't something we normally test for,” Frank said, “We actually had to go through quite a process to figure out what it was. As soon as we became aware of the bacteria, and then of where it was coming from, we shut them (the data center) down immediately,”
Meta said it's working with construction contractor Fortis to "resolve this issue."
"When the board shared that it found a substance in the city's wastewater — not public drinking water — Fortis immediately stopped discharging industrial wastewater and began hauling it offsite," A Meta spokesperson said.
While no one has been infected with the deadly virus, the incident goes to show the negative effects data centers have on their surroundings - going beyond environmental damage and pollution.
