Avondale faces public pushback over data center water allocations
Avondale Department of Water Resources, Arizona · Meeting date: May 18, 2026 · Published: May 26, 2026
An Avondale resident has called on the City Council to halt the development of new data centers, highlighting growing local frustration over the massive water allocations granted to tech facilities amid ongoing residential conservation pressures.
Key points
- A resident criticized the city for allocating 800,000 gallons of water to a local data center while simultaneously pushing residential HOAs to cut their water usage.
- The commenter warned of two additional data centers reportedly being built near 107th Avenue.
- The resident urged the council to pass a resolution banning new data centers, referencing a similar move by a municipality in Wisconsin.
- The city was also called out for using a third-party firm, Water Fluence, to monitor and strictly enforce residential HOA water usage.
Full report
Growing tension over industrial water use surfaced at the May 18, 2026, Avondale City Council meeting, as a local resident urged officials to halt the development of new data centers within the city.
Speaking during the public comment period, resident and HOA board member Joe Naylor expressed frustration over a perceived double standard in the city's water conservation efforts. Naylor criticized the municipality for urging residents to save water while simultaneously allocating 800,000 gallons to a facility he referred to as the Litchfield Data Center. He also noted that two additional data centers are reportedly under construction near 107th Avenue.
Naylor highlighted the strict enforcement faced by residential users, noting that the city pays a California-based company, Water Fluence, to monitor HOA water consumption. He recounted an instance where his HOA was flagged for a spike in water usage caused by broken sprinkler heads, arguing that it is difficult to ask residents to conserve water when massive allocations are granted to industrial users across the street.
To address the issue, Naylor proposed that the Avondale City Council pass a resolution banning the construction of future data centers. He pointed to a municipality in Wisconsin that recently passed similar legislation to protect local resources, suggesting Avondale should take the lead in Arizona.
Because the comments were made during the unscheduled public appearances portion of the meeting, the City Council did not take immediate action on the request.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council Meeting, Avondale Department of Water Resources