In Part 1 of a series, WSLR takes a look at the water use of the planned facility near Arcadia.
By Noah Bookstein
Original Air Date: June 12, 2026
Host: Data centers are facilities that house the computer servers powering everything from streaming services to artificial intelligence. And they’re highly controversial due to their massive use of water and energy. Investors want to build Planet Earth’s biggest data center just 40 miles from Sarasota. In the first installment of a three-part series, WSLR News reporter Noah Bookstein is looking at the data center’s expected water use.
Noah Bookstein: DCIP Group is a Florida-based company that wants to build a data center 40 miles from Sarasota, near Arcadia, in rural DeSoto County. They say the water system they will use at their proposed data center will not strain local resources.
Just as personal computers can get too hot and need a fan, servers can overheat and require energy and water to keep them cool. Common cooling methods include evaporative cooling, where water absorbs heat and is released as steam. This process consumes a large amount of water that does not return to the local ecosystem.
To address concerns about water use, DCIP Group’s plan involves the use of what it calls a “closed loop” water system and reclaimed water.
Despite its commitment to using a “closed loop” water system, DCIP Group does not yet have any schematics for the technology.
The company told WSLR News it works like a car radiator: Water circulates in a sealed loop, absorbing heat from the servers and releasing it through an exchanger rather than evaporating into the air. Unlike evaporative systems, a closed-loop design recirculates the same water rather than continuously consuming fresh supply. However, even closed-loop systems are not entirely waste-free, as they periodically discharge water to prevent mineral buildup, a process known as blowdown, and lose small amounts through drift.
Rendering of the proposed data center | DCIP
In a May press release, DCIP Group claimed using groundwater would be a last resort and that “any use would be metered and monitored in coordination with the Southwest Florida Water Management District.”
The Water Management District is the permitting authority for the Peace River Basin, where DCIP Group would have to draw from if they intend to use the wells already existing at the 34-acre site they plan to initially develop.
The site is a decommissioned power plant, already connected to a gas pipeline. The Water Management District confirmed the site already had a water permit, but it was issued for the former power plant and not a data center.
In December, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board adopted a new policy requiring board approval for any water use permit associated with a data center. That means if DCIP Group properly applies to draw water for the facility, the request must come before the full board at a publicly noticed meeting where people can show up, ask questions and have their concerns entered into the record.
Site of the proposed data center | Photo: DCIP
DCIP Group transferred that permit into their name last year but has not yet applied to modify it for use as a data center. Any such modification would require approval from the district’s full Governing Board at a public meeting. The district also confirms it has received no Environmental Resource Permit application for the project.
DCIP Group CEO Jon Brown told WSLR News the company isn’t certain a permit modification is required and has no timeline for filing one, but the Water Management District confirmed to WSLR News that a modification would be necessary.
There might be another requirement DCIP has to satisfy. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 484 into law, which will require large-scale data centers to use some portion of reclaimed water and requires that permit changes involving large-scale data centers must be treated as new applications.
DCIP Group claims the water for their cooling system will be sourced primarily from reclaimed water that they say has “no other viable usage.”
However, at this point DCIP Group has not reached an agreement with the City of Arcadia, which operates the reclaimed water facility.
According to the reclamation facility’s website: “The plant treats between 800,000 and 2,000,000 gallons of wastewater per day depending on the season.”
Rather than having no other viable use, the water is distributed to “City golf courses, ball fields, a cemetery, private groves and a few residential customers.”
Susan Glickman, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships, with the environmental group the Cleo Institute, says Florida is not prepared for these large scale facilities.
Susan Glickman: The effort to site data centers around the state has exploded. We’re seeing them in all corners of the state. What seems to be happening is letting the horse out of the barn before we’ve contemplated all these important impacts and how we’re addressing and dealing with them.
NB: Historic drought conditions are straining Florida’s water supply as the Floridan Aquifer continues to deplete. DeSoto County sits within the Peace River Basin, a watershed already under significant stress from decades of agricultural withdrawal and municipal growth. The Peace River flows south from the region through Charlotte County before emptying into Charlotte Harbor, one of Florida’s most important estuaries that serves as a critical nursery for fish species.
SG: We cannot get out in front and start siting plants when we just simply do not understand the implications. We need to slow it down and figure it out before we kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Florida is a fabulous place to live, and people come here in part because of the natural environment. We don’t wanna mess that up by trying to make quick decisions just because there are companies that want to make a buck.
NB: Reporting for WSLR News, Noah Bookstein.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.