University Claims Withholding Water From Nuclear Weapons Data Center Is ‘Unlawfully Discriminatory’ to Data Centers
The University of Michigan has sent a legal threat 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 looking to build 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 the delivery of water to hyperscale data centers in the area while it conducted environmental sustainability and long-term water use studies.
Luther Blackburn, YCUA’s executive director, told 404 Media that the organization had no comment on potential or pending litigation, but did confirm that he’d received a legal communication from the university. “YCUA staff are working on a Request for Proposal to complete the investigations and studies outlined in the moratorium,” he said. “I believe YCUA has acted lawfully and in accordance with industry best practices by issuing the moratorium.”
The university disagreed, arguing that any sector-specific moratorium would be legally invalid because it would be unrelated to any documented utility or public health needs. It claimed that the area had plenty of water and cited various legal precedents. 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 8-10 million gallon per day capacity. It also noted that YCUA leadership has stated that serving the University’s project would likely help mitigate overall utility 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 8-10 million gallon per day capacity. It also noted that YCUA leadership has stated that serving the University’s project would likely help mitigate overall utility costs by improving efficiency and cost distribution.
The University argued that the moratorium was discriminatory, stating it singles out “data centers” by label rather than by utility impact. It claimed that it is illegal for the Ypsilanti community to not give it water and that 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.
The University then asked the YCUA to not pass a moratorium and promised to “pursue” the matter. “The University respectfully requests that YCUA refuse to issue any sector-specific moratorium, instead basing any service decisions on documented utility factors, applied evenhandedly through existing permitting and technical review processes,” the letter said. “If these legal requirements are not followed by YCUA, the University reserves the right to pursue all rights and claims for necessary relief.”
The University of Michigan did not return 404 Media’s request for comment.
Ypsilanti Township has been fighting the proposed datacenter for more than a year now. Data centers are widely unpopular in the United States. They often cause noise pollution, affect water quality, and drive up utility bills for their neighbors. Local opposition to the Ypsilanti Township data center has been compounded by its connection to America’s nuclear weapons industry.
Key Takeaways
- The University of Michigan sent a legal threat over a yearlong pause preventing water hookup to a proposed nuclear weapons research and AI data center.
- The Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority (YCUA) passed a 365-day moratorium on the delivery of water to hyperscale data centers in the area while conducting environmental sustainability and long-term water use studies.
- The University argued that any sector-specific moratorium would be legally invalid because it would not be related to utility or public health needs, citing various legal precedents.
- Local opposition to the Ypsilanti Township data center was compounded by its connection to America’s nuclear weapons industry.
Originally published at 404media.co. Curated by AI Maestro.
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