Meta AI Data Center Linked to Rare Bacteria Water Scare

Meta’s Cheyenne AI data center project faced a water scare before opening: a rare bacterium, Cupriavidus gilardii, was found during routine testing in February in reclaimed irrigation water. Officials traced the contamination to Goat Systems LLC, a contractor cleaning cooling-system pipes on Meta’s Project Cosmo campus. Cheyenne paused its reclaimed-water irrigation program while crews drained and disinfected the network, but stressed the city’s drinking water was unaffected. Experts warned that sprayed irrigation could aerosolize the bacterium, posing infection risks especially to vulnerable people. Meta said contractor Fortis stopped the discharge, began hauling wastewater offsite, and found no trace of the bacteria in independent tests. Cheyenne later revoked the project’s access to city treatment facilities and restricted similar wastewater use in data center cooling.