TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — City leaders in Temple are addressing concerns about a new data center coming to Synergy Park, reassuring citizens about the facility's impact on the city's water supply at the state of the city address.
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"If you google data centers and water you're gonna hear that they are pouring out millions of gallons a day right out onto the ground," Mayor Tim said. "OK, that simply is not the case. I said earlier we are a hotbed for, uh, data centers right now. We have water. We have, uh, a lot of electricity. We have they're in front line. We have what they need. And so, uh, again, even when, even at an abate at a, at a, at a healthy abatement, it generates very, very good revenue," Tim said.
To further support the city's infrastructure, a new aquifer storage and recovery project is coming. City Manager Brynn Myers said the project will benefit residents and will not be used by the new data center.
"It uses the natural reservoir that exists underground to store water in times of higher availability," Myers said. "So when the community as a whole is using less water, we can store underground for times of higher need. So perhaps when the lake is lower or there is more need because people are watering their lawns in the summer."
Beyond the data center, Temple is experiencing significant growth. Census data shows the city is expected to add 30,000 residents in the next nine years.
"We are definitely going to grow and it's up to city management and city council to be sure that we grow, we grow well and we grow right and we are very much in tune to that," Tim said.
With that growth comes a greater need for public safety. The city has added more positions to the fire and police departments, as well as a new fire truck.
Myers explained that the population growth helps offset revenue lost from new property tax breaks passed in last year's Texas legislature.
"When you're comparing city to city, you have to consider differences not only in the tax base and other revenue sources they can generate but also what they've chosen in terms of discounts that might be applied, freezes that might be offered or exemptions that may be offered for members of their community and then there's also statewide programs," Myers said.
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