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City of New Albany Ohio Data Center

Resident Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Could data centers in New Albany affect my family’s drinking water or well water?

New Albany actively monitors and manages water usage across the business park. Water use varies by industry, and in many cases, uses complement one another. To reduce mineral buildup in water cooling infrastructure, some data centers further purify water, ultimately discharging cleaner water into the sanitary sewer than was originally received. Other data centers use regular tap water and discharge it again without ever adding chemicals. All industrial discharges join other effluent, all of which is treated by the City of Columbus. 

An industrial wastewater permit is required to connect to the Columbus sanitary sewer network. This permit establishes local discharge limits. The City of Columbus actively monitors effluents in sanitary sewage and enforces permitted limits accordingly. Columbus City Code 1145.20 – 1145.26 establishes these discharge limits. Amidst national reports of data centers releasing pollutants or further concentrating already-polluted ground water, the City of New Albany has repeatedly verified that such effluents are not present in industrial discharge from New Albany in partnership with the City of Columbus. Such regulation and monitoring is possible in New Albany because all industrial development is connected to the City of Columbus water and sewer network. No companies in the New Albany International Business Park utilize groundwater from wells. All industrial operators in New Albany are engaged in ongoing discussions around water efficiency, reuse, and sustainability technologies.

New Albany is not a municipal provider of water, electricity, or natural gas. Electricity and natural gas services are offered by private utility companies. The City works closely with power providers who finance, build, own, and maintain their own transmission infrastructure to ensure that planned development has enough power on the necessary development timeline. 

The City of New Albany is a contract community to the City of Columbus for water and sanitary sewer service, meaning New Albany finances and constructs water and sewer infrastructure (pipes, pumps, towers, etc.) but water and purification services are provided by the City of Columbus. New Albany manages water allocations to users by requiring a statement of anticipated water use from developers before an abatement agreement is ever negotiated. Using this form, the City is able to advise developers as to whether the necessary water demand can be met within the water allocated to New Albany from the City of Columbus.

The City actively monitors water and sewer use using digital monitors in critical infrastructure junctions throughout the New Albany International Business Park. These real-time readings help City engineers maintain a desktop model of water pressure and consumption. Using long-term trends in this use data (and thanks to developers’ anticipated water needs as submitted to the City via the form mentioned above, which is received years in advance of actual demand) the City can anticipate future water use well in advance. This modeling triggers the construction of water pumps and towers to maintain pressure well before they are immediately necessary to support development. Consistently maintaining a reasonable excess of water and sewer capacity is part of the City’s responsible model for economic development.

Thanks to this proactive system, the City has not required any more water or sewer capacity from the City of Columbus over the past decade; a timeframe that captures all of New Albany’s hyperscaler data center development. The City has found that while some data centers may require 3-4 million gallons per day, these facilities are, in practice, only using that volume of water to refresh their systems several times per year. These refresh events are scheduled in partnership with the City of Columbus well in advance. Some companies have also installed water tanks on site to draw down larger volume steadily during times of low use (at night, for example) for deployment during higher-use periods (like early morning hours).

Zoning is the local legal regulation of how property is used and can be developed. The City of New Albany’s zoning framework for data centers reflects the same thoughtful and intentional approach that guides all development in our community. By requiring thoughtful site planning, coordinated architecture, and enhanced buffering, the City ensures that large-scale facilities such as data centers are seamlessly integrated into their surroundings. By incorporating data centers into pre-zoned, shovel-ready sites within the New Albany International Business Park, the City ensures these facilities align with long-term land use goals and minimize potential impacts on surrounding neighborhoods. This approach reflects a strong commitment to balancing economic growth with community character and reinforces the principles outlined in the city’s comprehensive strategic plan.

Data centers are a permitted use in the General Employment (Codified Ordinances § 1153) and Technology Manufacturing District (TMD) (Codified Ordinances § 1154). Over time developers, landowners, City staff, the Planning Commission, and City Council have identified and implemented best practices into each of these zoning texts and base code to facilitate well-planned development and mitigate impacts to adjoining areas. The TMD zoning district was the product of a 2021 City-led effort to consolidate all the best practices from these prior zonings. Whether it be within the TMD zoning district or the GE zoning district with a Limited Overlay commercial zoning text, data centers in New Albany are subject to heightened standards that go beyond basic zoning ordinance requirements found in other communities.

These heightened standards include: 

Enhanced landscaping

  • Wherever possible, existing natural features must be incorporated into future development.
  • Installation of white four-rail horse fence that preserves the agrarian character of the community. Paint color, fence rail and post dimensions, and species of wood to be used in the construction of the fence are predetermined and standardized.
  • Installation of standardized blacktop leisure trail to provide pedestrian connections that enable walking, biking, and other recreation. The placement of this pathway is consistent relative to the nearest curb, as is the width of the path, strips of grass on either side, and street tree placement.
  • Specific size, gradient, and undulation criteria for swales, berms, and gateway water features that screen development from roadways.
  • Preapproved native species lists with specified tree installation sizes, spacings, and required underplanted shrubs and seeded meadow mix. In the case that berm height is unable to be met around the entirety of a site, plantings that provide 100% screening coverage at full foliage can be deployed within these criteria.
  • Pond shapes, plantings, and gradings that aesthetically integrate into the surrounding landscape; wetland plant mixes must be developed in consultation with a wetland ecologist.
  • Consistent campus entrance signage, roadway and wayfinding/address signage, and street light standards including specifications for the size, frequency, color, graphics, fonts, construction materials and placement proximate to paths, fences, bridges, and roadways.
  • Preapproved primary entry drive widths, radii of curbing, skirt and drive materials, and roadway paint schemas.
  • Specific bridge requirements with consideration for architecture, materials, height, wall width and aesthetic, and surrounding culvert size and shape.

Architectural standards

  • Accessory or ancillary buildings, whether attached or detached, must be of similar design, materials and construction as the primary structure if they are visible from a public street right-of-way.
  • Building façade colors and materials are coordinated to complement each other.
  • Building elevations shall be designed to be compatible with each other and to reflect a consistent design approach.
  • Elements such as meter boxes, utility conduits, roof and wall projections such as vent and exhaust pipes, basement window enclosures, and trash containers must be located so as to minimize their visibility and visual impact from off-site. For more information, please reference The New Albany Technology Manufacturing District Landscape and Architecture Standards Plan.

Screening elements that are complementary to primary buildings

  • Mechanical equipment and service areas that cannot be located out of sight of public right-of-way must be screened using materials and design treatments that match the building’s architecture, reinforcing a cohesive and high-quality visual environment. Special attention has been given to design requirements within setbacks along major public streets to balance site and facility needs with the rural aesthetic throughout the business park.

Noise mitigation standards to minimize off-site impacts 

  • Rather than establishing a specific decibel limit, the City’s noise ordinance prohibits the sound on an industrial parcel from exceeding “the average intensity of street traffic noise in the nearest residential districts.” Furthermore, “no sound shall be objectionable due to intermittence, best frequency or shrillness” (Codified Ordinances § 1153.07).

New Albany’s strategic planning process demonstrates that clearly defined standards can successfully accommodate complex, large-scale developments like data centers without compromising community character.

Such nuisances, whether related to construction or a finished, operational facility, are regulated in the New Albany Code of Ordinances. This code restricts noise levels at site boundaries to the same decibel level as the nearest residential neighborhood. 

In more than 25 years of development, the City is not aware of any ground vibration complaints, whether from data centers or otherwise. The City does receive occasional construction noise and light-related complaints which are not specific to the data center industry. Residents have also submitted data center-specific noise complaints during initial building tests. Data centers often install backup power generators and overly redundant cooling systems that require startup testing to verify performance. These systems are only deployed in emergency situations, such as a prolonged power outage or extraordinary weather event, but may be run for a full day or two during initial performance testing. Once verified complete, occasional tests may be required, but these can be scheduled for peak daylight hours to ensure as little disturbance as possible.

Over the course of more than 15 years of data center development, specifically, New Albany is only aware of four noise complaints from an operational data center – all of which were resolved within days.  In September of 2025, the City received consistent feedback from residents near Google’s New Albany campus about noisy exhaust fans. Google acknowledged the issue and retained a sound engineer and mechanical engineering experts in contract within two weeks. Google has already implemented several mitigation steps, including sound monitoring, operational adjustments, and dampening materials. They set up an email address specifically for residents to report the noise when they hear it and provided regular updates to city officials to share with the public. A permanent fix is scheduled for installation beginning in June of 2026, which is designed to comply with the City codes. We know residents want this resolved immediately, and we share that sense of urgency. Google has been proactive and collaborative as short-term mitigation options were tested while the permanent solution was designed and approved.

The tech sector has seen continued interest and investment from government and defense-related entities, especially in central Ohio. Intel and Anduril – both large, catalyst tech investments in our region – have existing contracts with the federal government, as do several of the data center companies in New Albany. In the City’s experience, these projects do not present heightened security concerns. Many businesses throughout the New Albany International Business Park have private security, active video surveillance, and other security measures, including a direct line of communication with the New Albany Police Department.

In the New Albany area, fire departments are managed by the townships. Fire marshal approval is part of the development process for every commercial development in New Albany, as are annual inspections. 

Beyond the minimum required compliance, data centers have been great partners with each township fire department. In some instances, fire departments have managed the controlled burn of structures being cleared for development, presenting new and unique training opportunities. Data centers have also hosted fire department staff to discuss fire contingency plans and to brief firefighters on industry-specific interior fire suppression measures. Several data center campuses have their own fire response teams. Data centers have not presented unusual concerns for other emergency services, like EMS/Ambulance.

The City of New Albany does not have direct control over water and power rates. New Albany is a contract community of Columbus for water service, meaning New Albany builds water infrastructure and Columbus purifies and pumps water to city boundaries and treats effluent. Electricity throughout the New Albany International Business Park is primarily provided by American Electric Power or The Energy Cooperative. 

Utility rates are established by utility providers based on system-wide demand across their entire service territories. As a result, a New Albany resident served by American Electric Power would be subject to the same potential rate adjustments as customers in other Columbus-area suburbs – or anywhere within AEP’s multi-state service area – regardless of whether a data center is in the New Albany International Business Park or elsewhere on the provider’s grid. The same is true of Columbus water and sewer services, though on a smaller, regional scale; a large water user anywhere in Columbus’ water service area would cause the same rate adjustments across the entire network.

A rate adjustment does not necessarily mean a rate increase. Basic principles around economies of scale dictate that as existing excess capacity is used, a utility’s cost per unit decreases. While this savings is not always passed on directly to the end consumer, it may prevent future rate increases for some time. This is especially true in post-industrial regions with significant excess utility capacity due to previous commercial users closing or moving elsewhere. Additional costs are incurred when further infrastructure buildout is required; expenses for an additional water treatment plant or larger transmission lines may be displaced across an entire utility network.

Some of the highest power-consuming data centers in New Albany have turned to generating their own power disconnected from the grid. Based on current proposals, as much as one gigawatt of power is anticipated to be generated in this manner using behind-the-meter natural gas power generation. This allows data centers to generate and utilize power to meet their demands without impacting ratepayers across the region. 

Data center companies proactively took an interest in Central Ohio, and New Albany has worked hard to attract data center projects as part of its efforts to stabilize and diversify its tax base. Were the same data center projects – or any other business in New Albany – to have gone to another Central Ohio community, residents may have borne the utility costs without receiving the benefit of these corporate taxpayers in New Albany. Securing data center investment in New Albany allows the City to receive revenues from the project, and more broadly, to represent New Albany residents at the table with the data center companies, utility providers, environmental organizations, legal teams, and others who are advancing this industry around the world.

There are no plans to build a nuclear power plant in New Albany. Throughout 2025 and early 2026, several tech companies, including Meta (which has data center infrastructure in New Albany), have announced power generation contracts with nuclear power providers. None of these projects involve constructing a nuclear facility in our community.

Meta’s announcement relates to agreements that support existing nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania and the future development of advanced nuclear technology at locations outside of New Albany. Meta’s New Albany data center will draw power from the regional electric grid, and Meta pays the full cost of the energy it uses. 

Please review Meta’s nuclear power generation press release for more information.

Several agencies oversee different aspects of data center operations in and around New Albany, depending on the issue involved. Residents with concerns can contact the appropriate agency directly:

  • Noise, lighting, zoning compliance, and construction impacts — overseen by the City of New Albany. Residents can report concerns through the City at (614) 855-0076 or through the City website.
  • Wastewater discharge and sewer compliance — regulated by the City of Columbus Division of Water Reclamation, which manages industrial pretreatment programs and wastewater treatment for New Albany and other contracting communities. Industrial users must comply with local discharge permits and pretreatment standards. Residents can contact Columbus Water & Power Customer Service at 614-645-8276 or visit their website.
  • Air emissions and environmental permitting — overseen by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, including regulation of air quality, wastewater permitting, and environmental compliance. Residents can submit environmental complaints or concerns through the Ohio EPA website.
  • Natural gas power generation facilities — regulated by the Ohio Power Siting Board, which reviews and approves major utility-scale energy infrastructure projects in Ohio.
  • Emergency services and fire safety compliance — handled through New Albany fire departments, fire marshals, and ongoing inspection requirements as part of the commercial development approval process.