Wichitas water should be for Wichitas people.

The Sedgwick County Commission has imposed a moratorium on new data center applications, that is currently set to expire on September 11th 2026.

As concerned citizens, it is time to start preparing for our next opportunity to enact change.

With new and innovative ways to recycle water coming to our city next year, (Link to article )we need to ensure NONE of these additional resources are ever at risk of being fed to a data center. 

Why are we even considering expanding data centers in Wichita while facing serious drought issues? This makes no sense. We're talking about recycling water just to manage our current needs. If the drought is already a problem, why would we want to draw even more resources for data centers? We need to seriously think about our future here. 

Let's look at the big picture. Right now, Kansas is home to mid-sized data centers, currently using enough energy to power around 4,500 homes simultaneously with a total capacity of 20 megawatts. But the new proposed data centers would increase this to a staggering 1,370 megawatts. Just one of these 600 megawatt facilities could use as much power as 540,000 homes. Sure, it sounds impressive, but at what cost to our precious water resources?

We're used to dealing with droughts in Wichita, and we should be focused on preparing for them, not adding to the problem. Building massive data centers means more demand on our water supply, which is the last thing we need during a water crisis.

By halting this expansion, we can prioritize water conservation and ensure our local community has enough resources in the long run. We need to think sustainably and not allow short-term gains to harm our future.

Let's urge decision-makers to put a stop to this data center expansion and focus on sustainable water management. Please sign the petition and help us protect Wichita's water resources.