KSL News in Salt Lake City examines growing community concerns about data center noise, water use, and neighborhood impact across Utah, contrasting complaints about a competitor’s facility with DataBank’s approach to responsible operations. DataBank COO Joe Minarik invited KSL to tour one of the company’s six Utah data centers, offering a firsthand look at how the company manages its environmental footprint.
On water, Minarik puts the numbers in plain terms: one golf course uses seven times more water than all of DataBank’s Utah data centers combined. The company’s closed-loop cooling system recycles the same water-glycol mix continuously, with one 49,000 square foot facility using the rough equivalent of three Olympic-sized swimming pools — without replacing the mixture in several years of operation.
“We invest heavily in sound attenuation and dampeners that go around the generators and the cooling systems to kind of prevent noise. There’s already ordinances and legalities at the local counties and jurisdictions all put in place that you have to meet certain noise requirements. And we’re below them all the time.”
— Joe Minarik, COO, DataBank
KSL reporters noted they could not hear any noise from DataBank’s facility in the nearest neighborhood, a contrast to conditions reported near a competitor’s campus in West Jordan. Minarik also addressed the power grid challenge directly, framing DataBank as a constructive partner in building the transmission infrastructure the industry’s growth requires.
The KSL report includes a video segment from the facility tour. Watch the full story or read the complete article at KSL News.
