Ypsilanti Township Votes to Block Water Supply to Controversial Nuclear Weapons Data Center

Ypsilanti Township in Michigan has taken a stand against a planned hyperscale data center that would support nuclear weapons research, voting to halt its water supply for one year. The Township’s Board of Trustees approved a 365-day moratorium on water delivery to the facility, allowing time for a comprehensive study of its environmental and community impacts.

The proposed $1.2 billion, 220,000-square-foot data center, located in Ypsilanti Township’s Hydro Park, has faced significant backlash since its announcement. The facility is intended for use by Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL), located 1,500 miles away, for nuclear weapons research. According to Steven Ceccio, a University of Michigan (UofM) representative, the data center would consume 500,000 gallons of water per day, with the university planning to source the water from the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority (YCUA).

YCUA Cites Water Demand Concerns in Moratorium Push

The YCUA has actively lobbied for the moratorium, citing a white paper from the American Water Works Association that highlights the high water demands of hyperscale data centers and artificial intelligence computing facilities. In a presentation, the YCUA described such facilities as “high-impact customers” for water and sewer utilities, emphasizing the need for further investigation into long-term sustainability.

The moratorium, which lasts 12 months, will prevent the YCUA from entering into any new capacity reservation agreements with data centers. During this period, the authority will conduct a long-term water supply analysis and review environmental sustainability studies. “During the 12-month moratorium period, the Authority will refrain from executing any capacity reservation agreement,” the YCUA stated in its presentation.

Community Opposition Centers on Ethical and Security Concerns

The decision to block the water supply reflects deep community concerns about the data center’s purpose and potential consequences. Many residents oppose the use of parkland for a facility tied to nuclear weapons research, citing both moral and ethical objections as well as fears of becoming a target in a potential conflict.

During a recent meeting, Township attorney Douglas Winters warned the Board of Trustees that the data center could make Ypsilanti Township a “high value target.” He referenced the recent bombing of Gulf Coast data centers by Iran as a cautionary example of how such facilities may attract geopolitical risks.

Pentagon’s Nuclear Modernization Plans Raise Stakes

The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of the U.S. government’s renewed focus on nuclear weapons development. The Pentagon has called on U.S. nuclear scientists to design new types of nuclear weapons, and former President Trump’s 2027 budget proposal nearly doubled funding for creating new nuclear weapon cores. Despite these developments, the University of Michigan has reiterated that the data center will not be involved in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.

“Los Alamos is tasked with nuclear stewardship—not conducting live tests on weaponry, but instead using advanced computation to ensure the safety and reliability of our existing stockpile without the need for nuclear testing, especially as our stockpile ages. Computation provides an important tool for LANL to achieve this mission.”

— Steven Ceccio, University of Michigan

The moratorium now moves the debate into a year-long period of analysis, during which the YCUA and community stakeholders will assess the broader implications of hosting such a high-impact facility.