Will new data centers spike Charlotte water bills? Here’s what officials say

Charlotte residents have heard plenty about data centers potentially pushing up electric bills — but what about their water bills?

As data centers expand across North Carolina, Attorney General Jeff Jackson has pushed Duke Energy to create a class for the facilities so households aren’t left paying for power plants and grid upgrades needed to serve them. Residents say they worry about how much power the facilities require, what new infrastructure utilities must build and whether households could end up shouldering those costs.

But Charlotte Water says that, at least for now, residents won’t face the same problem on their water bills.

“Data centers currently operating in Charlotte have not caused residential water or sewer rates to increase, and no recent or planned increase has been attributed to anticipated data-center demand,” Charlotte Water Public Affairs Manager Jennifer Frost told The Charlotte Observer.

Frost said the utility follows a “growth pays for growth” principle. Its existing development rules require each proposed data center to undergo a capacity review and hydraulic modeling, Frost said. If that analysis determines a project needs additional infrastructure, the developer must pay for those project-specific improvements including main extensions, line upgrades and capacity improvements. Those costs are not passed on to residential customers, she said.

Charlotte Water is funded through water and sewer rates, which cover the cost of operating, maintaining and expanding the system. Under rates that took effect July 1, the average residential customer using about 4,500 gallons, pays $81.21 per month before stormwater fees, according to the utility.

Data centers do not have their own special Charlotte Water rate. They pay commercial or industrial rates and the same development-related fees charged to comparable projects, Frost said. Charlotte Water is, however, monitoring national trends around separate data-center rates and could consider implementing a separate rate category in the future.

For now, existing smaller data centers represent only a sliver of Charlotte’s overall water demand. Frost said those facilities use a combined average of roughly 64,000 gallons per day, about 0.05% of Charlotte Water’s average daily demand. That figure does not include proposed developments such as projects at Moores Chapel Road and University City Boulevard, she said.

Water use can vary widely from one data center to another, depending on the size of the facility and how it is cooled. That uncertainty is part of what Charlotte officials are trying to sort through as more projects are proposed.

The City Council imposed a 150-day moratorium on new data-center applications in June while officials study infrastructure capacity, environmental concerns and potential policy changes. Previously approved projects can continue moving forward. The moratorium is scheduled to expire Nov. 5.

The city also began a series of six community meetings on Wednesday to hear residents’ concerns and gather feedback on potential new rules.

This story was originally published September 4, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline “Will new data centers spike Charlotte water bills? Here’s what officials say.”