Pima County Food Alliance’s Statement on Project Blue
The Pima County Food Alliance (PCFA) is Tucson’s local food policy council. We are writing to express our concerns regarding "Project Blue," the proposed data center. As a coalition of community members, farmers, market managers, agency staff, organizers, and university students and researchers, we address food system-related issues and needs through policy, advocacy, community building, education, and outreach. There has been abundant conversation on this issue in the community space, and we appreciate you taking the time to consider these extensive discussions regarding the potential long-term issues associated with this proposal.
PCFA's primary concern revolves around the substantial water usage projected for this center. While city information indicates "Project Blue" will be "net water positive" this contradicts actual usage data from similar centers in Arizona and across the country. A recent report from the New York Times found that a Meta data center in Georgia ended up depleting a local ground water source and in Phoenix construction on residential homes have been paused due to droughts exacerbated by existing data centers. Moreover, research completed by local research center Sky Island AI indicates that the current proposal significantly underestimates the typical water consumption of data centers. Allowing this project to move forward would negate the goals established in the Tucson Resilient Together: Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, and the One Water 2100 Plan, both of which have been uplifted as necessary reforms by the city to address the ever-growing climate crisis. Project Blue would strain Tucson’s already limited water resources, potentially contributing to desertification or degradation of the landscape, making it harder for native species to survive, aquifers to refill, and food to grow.
Additionally, the lack of transparency of the owners of this project and their mission is extremely concerning. While some of this information has now been made public, requesting the Pima County community to allocate a substantial amount of a finite resource to a secretive entity with undefined goals is troublesome. We live in the beautiful Sonoran desert, where resiliency is woven into the ecological, historical, and cultural fabric. But a data center is not a sustainable option for the Pima County economy, environment, or residents.
