O'Leary Digital seeks 1,712 acre-feet of water a year for Stratos data center

O'Leary Digital has filed a new water rights application for its proposed Stratos data center near Snowville in Box Elder County, seeking up to 1,712 acre-feet of water a year from Salt Wells Spring Stream, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The company would change the water's use from irrigation to power generation and other commercial and industrial uses. ^[1]

The stream has irrigated Bar H Ranch for decades. State water rights records show change application a55167, filed Oct. 15 against right 13-2, which is owned by Bar H Ranch, Inc., and list it as unapproved. ^[2] According to the company's engineering report, as described by the Tribune, the project would divert about 1,215 acre-feet a year at full buildout and return about 229 acre-feet through wastewater treatment and irrigation flows, for a net depletion of about 987 acre-feet a year. The application calls those projections conservative and says they are below diversion and depletion under current use. A pipeline of about 2.5 miles would carry unused water and return flows to the downstream edge of the ranch property. ^[1]

The filing states that more water will reach the Great Salt Lake from the stream than has historically, without saying how much. O'Leary's company says the project is "almost certain to result in a net increase of water flowing to downstream water rights and the Great Salt Lake." ^[1]

Protests began within hours of the filing, and by Monday afternoon close to 200 people had submitted concerns about the project's effect on the lake, the Tribune reported. The request is smaller than the developer's earlier applications, which sought a little more than 1,900 acre-feet. O'Leary Digital withdrew two earlier applications this year after receiving large numbers of protests. ^[1]