University Claims Withholding Water From Nuclear Weapons Data Center Is ‘Unlawfully Discriminatory’ to Data Centers
The University of Michigan has threatened legal action over a yearlong pause that would prevent water hookup to a proposed nuclear weapons research and AI data center. Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Michigan are planning a $1.2 billion, 220,000 square foot data center in Ypsilanti Township. On April 22, the Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority (YCUA) passed a 365-day moratorium on water delivery to hyperscale data centers in the area for environmental sustainability and long-term water use studies.
Luther Blackburn, YCUA’s executive director, told 404 Media that he had received a legal communication from the university. The organization is working on a Request for Proposal to complete investigations and studies outlined in the moratorium. He believes YCUA has acted lawfully and in accordance with industry best practices by issuing the moratorium.
The University disagreed, stating that the moratorium was “unlawfully discriminatory” against data centers and promised to pursue all rights and claims for relief if its demands weren’t met. The university argued that a sector-specific moratorium would be legally invalid because it is unrelated to any documented utility or public health needs. It claimed the area has plenty of water, citing 8-10 million gallon per day capacity.
The University also cited legal precedents and stated that the courts will not support Ypsilanti’s side. The university argued that adding a data center as a customer would help mitigate overall costs by improving efficiency and cost distribution. The letter quoted Blackburn as saying he had confirmed in 2025 that the data center’s proposed use of 200,000 gallons a day were within YCUA’s capacity.
Sean Knapp, the YCUA’s director of service operations, told Planet Detroit last year that the YCUA is operating below capacity at the moment. Adding the data center as a customer would help mitigate overall costs by improving efficiency and cost distribution. The University then asked for the moratorium to be avoided and promised to pursue all rights and claims for necessary relief.
After saying it was illegal for the Ypsilanti community not to give it water, the University claimed the moratorium discriminated against data centers. “Beyond the above legal deficiencies, the proposed moratorium is pretextual and unlawfully discriminatory because it singles out ‘data centers’ by label rather than by utility impact,” the letter said. “It is discriminatory to permit other users to connect and consume currently available capacity while the utility conducts undefined studies to determine whether there is sufficient capacity for the University’s proposed facility.”
The University of Michigan did not respond to 404 Media’s request for comment. Ypsilanti Township has been fighting the proposed data center for over a year, which is unpopular in the United States due to its connection to America’s nuclear weapons industry.
Key Takeaways
- The University of Michigan has threatened legal action over a moratorium on water delivery to a proposed nuclear weapons research and AI data center.
- The Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority (YCUA) passed a 365-day moratorium, citing environmental sustainability and long-term water use studies.
- The University of Michigan argues that the moratorium is unlawful and discriminatory against data centers, claiming there is ample water available for their needs.
Originally published at 404media.co. Curated by AI Maestro.
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