Concerns as new $1.2b recycling facility will service data centres

Concerns have been raised about recycled water from a new $1.2 billion facility built to bolster Western Sydney's drought resilience being used by data centres.

The Kemps Creek facility opened last month to treat 35 million litres, or roughly 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools, of wastewater daily.

There are plans to double this to 70 million litres as the city grows.

Stuart Khan, who has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles on issues relating to water quality and treatment, said demand from data centres was not accounted for in the Greater Sydney Water Strategy plan, which was created in 2022.

"We have identified that we can get up to 140 gigalitres per year … from recycled water schemes into the future over the next couple of decades," Professor Khan said.

"If we take that away from customers, we give it to a new industry that wasn't accounted for in the strategy, then we need to think about where we are going to replace that future water supply from."

The strategy was designed to address the increasing pressure on water supplies due to a growing population and unpredictable climate cycles.

While the new Badu Yarragul Water Resource Recovery Facility at Kemps Creek's environmental impact statement nor its environment protection licence mentioned data centres explicitly, it does reference "industrial and business use".

Professor Khan said while data centres provided opportunity for Sydney, there needed to be consideration for how recycled water was prioritised.

Future demand

The facility has capacity to connect 140,000 new homes and businesses across Western Sydney, including the new airport.

Sydney Water said the facility would produce high-quality treated water suitable for non-drinking purposes in homes, industrial and business use, agriculture, and for greening public spaces.

"There's a real opportunity for this to be used for data centres," Sydney Water managing director Darren Cleary said.

Mr Cleary told ABC News the water utility was investing $14 billion in capital over the next five years to ensure demand was met.

"The infrastructure that will be delivered for them [data centres] will have to be done in a way that doesn't affect the services we provide to the broader customer base," Mr Cleary said.

"So fundamentally they'll pay their way."

Sydney Water has confirmed a new wastewater treatment plant at Camellia-Rosehill, due to open by 2032, would also supply recycled water to data centres.

'A lot of uncertainty'

Sanaa Shah, a senior campaigner for Sweltering Cities, which advocates for community-driven solutions to urban heat in Western Sydney, said water use had not been adequately considered in data centre proposals and local residents were concerned they would be caught short.

"They remember the drought period, they remember water restrictions and they don't know if these rules are going to be equally applied to data centres," she said.

"What we're witnessing right now is a frantic, reckless data centre boom … there's a lot of uncertainty around these proposals."

Ms Shah called for a moratorium on data centre proposals until there were clear safeguards in place "to ensure that these big data centres don't suck up our energy resources and don't result in higher energy bills".

Data centre boom

There are more than 60 operational data centres across NSW, according to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.

"The current SSD [state significant development] planning pipeline contains 18 data centre projects valued at $61.22 billion in capital investment," a spokesperson said.

With the Badu Yarragul facility now online, Professor Khan questioned whether it should supply recycled water for the city's drinking water supply, instead of data centres.

"The ability to produce very highly purified, very safe water is well established … including in Perth," he said.

"It's simply the fact that's not the intention. The intention is to use it for a non-drinking water source."

Professor Khan said the facility would need to get regulatory approval for a drinking water supply.

Sydney Water confirmed purified recycled water for drinking was a possibility as part of long-term plan outlined in the Greater Sydney Water Strategy.

"It's really a question for community and government about whether that is something that they would accept and value," Mr Cleary said.

Mr Cleary said a decision would need to be made within the next 10 years.