Amazon's Oregon data centers blamed for fuelling cancer and miscarriages, company reacts

In Oregon, Morrow County's drinking water quality is jeopardized by high nitrate levels from agriculture and Amazon data centers, according to a new report.

Morrow County, located in Oregon, is recognized for its expansive agricultural operations and food processing facilities. However, in the past ten years, it has also become the site of multiple Amazon data centers. A report from Rolling Stone indicates that both experts and local inhabitants now suspect that a combination of agricultural waste and the substantial water consumption of these data centers is elevating nitrate concentrations in drinking water to hazardous levels.

Amazon representatives dispute claims from a Rolling Stone report linking their data centers to elevated nitrate levels in Morrow County's drinking water.(AFP)

This situation may be contributing to an increase in rare cancers and miscarriages, according to the report.

Nitrate concentrations in potable water surpass safety thresholds

A comprehensive investigation by Rolling Stone asserts that nitrate levels in certain wells within the Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer have soared to 73 parts per million (ppm). This figure is ten times higher than Oregon’s permissible limit of 7 ppm and seven times above the federal threshold.

The aquifer, which provides drinking water to the area, has faced significant pressure for many years due to wastewater from large agricultural operations. The fertilizers utilized in farming contain nitrates, which gradually infiltrate the soil and water over time.

As reported by Rolling Stone, the arrival of Amazon has “supercharged this process.” The data centers extract tens of millions of gallons of groundwater annually to cool their servers. Once cooled, this water is directed into the wastewater system of the Port of Morrow.

Rolling Stone report further states that “data centres suck up tens of millions of gallons of water from the aquifer each year to cool their computer equipment, which then gets funnelled to the Port’s wastewater system.”

This wastewater, which already contains nitrates, is then applied to adjacent farms. However, the soil in these regions is sandy and porous, which means it is unable to absorb all of the wastewater. Consequently, an increased amount of nitrates percolates back into the aquifer.

Amazon rejects allegations regarding water contamination

In response to the accusations, Amazon representative Lisa Levandowski rejected the Rolling Stone report, calling it “misleading and inaccurate.”

She asserted that “the volume of water our facilities use and return represents only a very small fraction of the overall water system—not enough to have any meaningful impact on water quality.”

Levandowski further stated that groundwater issues in the region “significantly predate AWS' (Amazon Web Services) presence.”