Rep. Hageman Says Call with Meta over Cheyenne Wastewater Contamination Was Productive
Testing in late June cleared the Dry Creek and Crow Creek facilities after months of disinfection and wastewater restrictions, officials said.
- Cheyenne's water reuse system returned online in late June after testing at the Dry Creek and Crow Creek facilities confirmed the water is safe for irrigation use.
- The system shutdown followed a contamination incident when Goat Systems LLC, a Meta contractor, flushed water containing Cupriavidus gilardii into the city's sanitary sewer, prompting the Cheyenne Board to revoke discharge privileges in March.
- Frank Strong, who manages the board's engineering and water resources division, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that the board sold the fill water and that "This isn't something we normally test for."
- To prevent future contamination, the Cheyenne Board prohibited water discharges from data centers using fill-and-flush systems, requiring facilities to build their own collection systems instead.
- This incident illustrates the friction between AI infrastructure and municipal water resources, as cities tighten rules on data center wastewater during construction and startup phases.
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17 Articles
Oil City News
Cap City NewsRep. Hageman says call with Meta over Cheyenne wastewater contamination was productive
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming House Rep. Harriet Hageman said she had a “productive” call with Meta about the contractor building its data center accidentally leaking a rare bacterium into Cheyenne’s wastewater reclamation system. The company said additional testing will be conducted going forward. “I’ve been assured that additional testing to confirm the safety of the wastewater has been routinely conducted,” Hageman said in a Facebook post. “I appr…
Wyoming officials say Meta’s 715,000-square-foot data center is responsible for contaminating its water system with a rare bacterium
Cheyenne's Board of Public Utilities tightened its wastewater discharge policy following the discovery of Cupriavidus gilardii in its treatment facility earlier this year.
Hageman Demands Answers From Zuckerberg About Cheyenne Data Center Contamination
Wyoming U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman in a Thursday letter is demanding answers from Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg about how its Cheyenne data center contaminated the city’s wastewater system. “I am deeply concerned,” she wrote.
Mark Zuckerberg Faces Outrage After Deadly Bacteria Found in Water Systems Near $800 Million Data Centre
A controversial AI data centre backed by Mark Zuckerberg has landed in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after a rare bacterium was discovered in wastewater linked to the massive project. Officials in Cheyenne, Wyoming, say contaminated industrial water discharged during construction of Meta's £800 million (approximately £589 million) campus entered the city's sewer system, triggering months of cleanup, new environmental rules and fresh cr…
Deadly bacteria found in major US city’s water system traced to Mark Zuckerberg’s $800m data center
Deadly bacteria found in major US city’s water system traced to Mark Zuckerberg’s $800m data center | 8 July 2026 | Meta’s massive AI data center in Wyoming is facing scrutiny after an unexpected contamination incident emerged during construction. The Mark Zuckerberg-owned company is developing a 715,000sq ft campus in Cheyenne that is set to go online next year, but its contractor has come under fire after city officials traced wastewater conta…
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