As tech giants like Meta build data centers in the Newton County, GA, area, local wells have been damaged, the cost of municipal water has soared and the county’s water commission may face a shortage of the vital resource. Newton County is east of Atlanta.

The situation has become so dire that Newton County is on track to be in a water deficit by 2030, according to a report last year. If the local water authority cannot upgrade its facilities, residents could be forced to ration water. In the next two years, water rates are set to increase 33 percent, more than the typical 2 percent annual increases, said Blair Northen, the mayor of Mansfield, a town in Newton County.

Wasting our energy, wasting our water. Will we bd a le to afford the necessities of life? Who will protect us?