The Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer, the area’s primary source of drinking water, has historically suffered from nitrate runoff caused by local mega-farms and food-processing plants. But engineers and public-health experts now warn that AWS’s heavy water use has ‘supercharged’ the problem by concentrating nitrates during the cooling cycle.
The company’s data centers draw millions of gallons of water from the same aquifer every year to cool their servers. The water emerges from the centers superheated and, after partial evaporation, carries up to 56 ppm of nitrate when it is pumped back into the Port of Morrow’s treatment lagoon and then sprayed onto nearby agricultural fields. Porous soil quickly becomes saturated, allowing enriched wastewater to seep back into the aquifer.
The health impacts to county residents are severe. State and federal guidelines set Nitrate limit at 10 ppm (with Oregon’s specific limit being 7 ppm) to prevent “blue-baby” syndrome, specific cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and fertility problems. With local wells now testing above 70 ppm, area physicians have reported an unusual increase in both pregnancy loss and a rare cancer. Makes a diagnosis.
Amazon has disputed these findings. Spokeswoman Lisa Lewandowski said the company’s water use is “only a very small fraction” of the basin’s total water and noted groundwater issues long predate AWS operations. he rejected the claims rolling stone report asmisleading and incorrect,
Kristin Ostrom, executive director of the advocacy group Oregon Rural Action, said 40 percent of the county’s residents live below the poverty line and lack the political leverage to demand an alternative water supply. State agencies have delivered bottled water to a handful of homes, but have not committed to a comprehensive clean water project.
<a href