Across Kansas, and across the country, communities are facing a new and significant choice: whether to welcome data center development. These massive digital infrastructure facilities, the backbone of AI, cloud computing, and virtually every app on your phone, are actively searching for new homes. And in a state like Kansas, the question is no longer if they’ll come knocking, it’s whether we’ll be ready with an honest, informed, and strategic answer.

The Driving Dickinson County organization says they believe in something simple but essential: OPPORTUNITY —but it’s data and facts that keep us driving in the right direction.

That mindset doesn’t mean saying yes to everything. It means doing the homework, understanding the tradeoffs, and making intentional decisions that move our communities forward—by design, not by default.

Setting the Record Straight: The State Has Done Its Homework

Recently, their office received direct communication from the Kansas Department of Commerce sharing a comprehensive overview of both the facts and the common myths surrounding data center development. After reviewing the information, we felt it was important to pass those insights along to our communities—because informed decisions start with access to clear, credible information.

Let’s walk through a few of those myths—and what the facts actually say.

“A data center will drain all the water in our community.”

Water is a legitimate concern—but the answer depends almost entirely on the technology a developer uses. Modern data centers have three cooling options: air-cooled systems (which use zero water), closed-loop liquid systems (which can reduce freshwater consumption by up to 70% compared to older designs), and evaporative cooling towers (the most water-intensive, and increasingly discouraged). Industry leaders like Microsoft have committed that all new facilities use zero-water evaporation cooling. Google’s air-cooled facility in Pflugerville, TX used roughly the equivalent of two months of a single household’s water use—for an entire year.

 The bottom line: water concerns are real for poorly designed facilities. They are addressable by engineering and contract requirements—not inevitable. Communities should demand Water

Usage Effectiveness (WUE) commitments in development agreements from day one.

🔥Beyond conservation—turning waste heat into community value

Data centers don’t just consume energy—they generate enormous amounts of heat as a byproduct. Forward-thinking communities are now requiring developers to capture and repurpose that waste heat for district heating systems, greenhouses, aquaculture facilities, and municipal buildings. Similarly, advanced water recycling systems can return treated cooling water to local systems rather than discharging it. These aren’t far-off ideas—they’re happening in Europe and increasingly in the United States. For a county like ours, that could mean new agricultural innovation, lower utility costs for public buildings, or even heating for community facilities. The key is requiring these commitments at the negotiating table—before a shovel hits the ground.

 “Residents will pay higher utility bills to subsidize the data center.”

Kansas law is actually ahead of most states on this issue. The Kansas Corporation Commission’s Large Load Tariff (approved November 2025) requires data centers drawing 75 MW or more to sign 12-to-17 year energy contracts, pay a minimum of 80% of contracted demand even in low-usage months, post collateral equal to two years of minimum bills, and pay for any transmission upgrades they require. On top of that, Kansas SB 98 (2025) explicitly bars data centers from receiving the economic development discounted electricity rate that other large industrial customers can access.

Are there still things to watch? Yes. Communities should monitor utility rate cases involving infrastructure expansion—because building new power lines and substations can eventually find its way into rate recovery arguments. Vigilance matters. But Kansas residents start from a position of meaningful protection.

 “Once you let one in, you lose control.”

Data centers do tend to cluster—because they need fiber, power infrastructure, and proximity to other facilities. Northern Virginia’s data center alley is often cited as a cautionary tale. But the myth here is that communities are powerless. Local governments retain full authority over zoning, conditional use permits, site plan review, setbacks, and density limits. The communities that ended up overwhelmed are those that didn’t write the rules before the developers arrived. The lesson isn’t “say no.” The lesson is: write your rules first. Drive with intention.

 The Real Opportunity: From Barely Surviving to Truly Thriving

Here’s where the conversation gets real for some communities.

Dickinson County is not a struggling community—but we are a community that knows exactly how thin the margins can be. We know what it feels like to watch a major employer leave, to see a building sit vacant on Main Street for years, to stretch a municipal budget until it strains. We also know what it feels like when something clicks—when investment arrives, when jobs are created, when tax revenue means a road gets fixed or a fire station gets staffed.

The economic case for data centers, when done right, is compelling:

• According to CBRE research, each direct job created in the data center industry generates an average of 7.4 ancillary jobs across the broader local economy—in construction, operations, maintenance, cybersecurity, telecom, and related services.
• In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centers now provide nearly half of all property tax revenue—generating an estimated $26 in tax revenue for every $1 in county services they require.
• A data center investing $1 billion generates an estimated $58.3 million in first-year sales tax liability at the national average rate—plus ongoing annual obligations as equipment is replaced on a 3–5 year cycle.
• Data center development drives fiber buildout that lowers connectivity costs and enables other tech-dependent businesses to locate and grow in the same region.

For a county on the cusp—one where the gap between barely surviving and truly thriving is measured in a handful of major investments—this kind of fiscal anchor is worth a serious, clear-eyed conversation.

 Guardrails Aren’t the Enemy of Growth—They’re What Make It Last

Every person in this county has their hands on the wheel. That’s not just a phrase—it’s a responsibility. And responsible driving means you don’t just floor it at every green light. You check the mirrors. You know the road conditions. You make sure your passengers are safe.

Done right, guardrails on data center development can include:

• Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) commitments written into development agreements, requiring modern closed-loop or air-cooled technology—not just promises.
• Heat recovery and water recycling requirements—turning waste byproducts into community assets like district heating or agricultural water reuse.
• Zoning and setback ordinances adopted proactively—before inquiries arrive—to protect residential neighborhoods, agricultural land, and community character.
• Local hiring and workforce development commitments that ensure residents are trained for the jobs being created—not just spectators to construction.
• Noise abatement standards, lighting restrictions, and vegetative screening requirements that preserve quality of life for neighbors.

The Brookings Institution put it plainly: communities should treat data center negotiations not as isolated real estate transactions, but as “ecosystem-shaping moments that trade infrastructure access for commitments to advance local innovation, talent, and industry strengths.”

That’s exactly the kind of strategic thinking that Driving Dickinson County is built on.

The Road Ahead

We’re not endorsing any specific data center proposal today. We’re doing something more important: we’re making sure Dickinson County is informed, prepared, and in the driver’s seat if and when that conversation arrives.

That road—the one that curves forward, that rises, that gains momentum—doesn’t just happen. It’s built by individuals who show up informed, ask hard questions, demand accountability, and refuse to let fear or hype make decisions that belong to the community.

The “i” in Driving Dickinson County shows up here, too. In Informed. In Intentional. In Invested. In the communities that go from barely surviving to genuinely thriving because they made decisions with their eyes wide open.

We’re not just watching the road. We’re driving it.

Additional Resources

• Kansas Commerce Data Center Myth-Busting Guide — available through the Kansas Department of Commerce
• Data Center Heat & Water Reuse Research — IEA, EESI, Microsoft Sustainability Reports (2024–26)
• Brookings Institution: Data Centers as Ecosystem-Shaping Investments (February 2026)