Athlon Blockchain Technologies’ (Athlon BT) data center for Bitcoin mining in El Reno, Oklahoma, had to shut down due to a water outage within the territory. The latter caused more than 13,800 cubic meters of water to leak, causing water supply interruption to local residents and institutions. Report Data center updates.
The leak was linked to a faulty fire hydrant at a facility operated by Athlon BT, which operates data centers and builds mobile data centers for artificial intelligence and mining. The leak reduced pressure on the city’s water supply, causing temporary water outages in some areas and closing schools for two days. Following the spill, the facility was declared unfit for operation and the violations ordered to be eliminated. Athlon BT will not be allowed to resume operations until some related issues are resolved.
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El Reno authorities issued a permit to build the data center in 2021, but the city ordered construction halted in June 2023 after an inspection found numerous life-threatening violations, including hazardous structures, expired building and electrical permits, drainage issues and a lack of a “final certificate” to operate the data center. Apparently, none of this has stopped the company from completing and launching the data center. However, the city acknowledged that it did not itself oversee enforcement of the shutdown order, citing staff turnover and poor internal communication. According to statistics from the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS), U.S. data centers have three times Water Consumption – It could be even worse now.
Athlon BT will be responsible for cubic meter losses, emergency and other overtime, equipment usage and other costs associated with the spill. According to authorities, the leak was not caused by a failure in the facility’s cooling system or normal water wastage – the incident occurred on a private water system within the data center’s boundaries. These fees will not affect local residents. The state recently introduced a bill aimed at protecting ordinary electricity consumers from the infrastructure costs associated with data centers and mining facilities that add 75 megawatts or more of load to the grid.
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