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Flagship evidence ledger · Water

Microsoft Quincy: a documented benefit with important limits.

EPA’s case study documents the reuse utility operating as of its reporting period and estimates 138 million gallons of annual potable-water savings. It is not a zero-water system, and that figure is not total campus consumption.

Operator: MicrosoftPlace: Quincy, WashingtonSource period: operating from 2021; EPA record reviewed in 2026Last reviewed: 10 September 2026
30 yearsCity–Microsoft finance and operating agreement
$31MCapital cost financed by Microsoft, per EPA
138M gal/yrEstimated potable-water savings, not consumption
Bottom lineEPA documents a city-owned, closed-loop treatment system that recirculates Microsoft cooling water and began operating on June 30, 2021. The system reduces potable-groundwater reliance, but water still evaporates during cooling and make-up water is required.

Claim-to-outcome ledger

Supported as delivered

The reuse utility is operating

EPA says QWRU became operational in 2021, uses ten treatment systems and more than 30 miles of pipe, and as of 2022 served Microsoft’s campus.Locator: EPA, “Solution.” Observation period: 2021–2022.

Supported as delivered

Potable-water reliance was materially reduced

EPA estimates 138 million gallons of potable-water savings per year. It also reports 260 million gallons per year of canal water used as make-up and about 5% potable groundwater in the annual make-up mix.Locator: EPA, “Make-up Water Sources” and “Benefits.” Quantity type: estimated savings and reported supply—not total consumption.

Not reconciled

Microsoft’s launch story cited 380 million gallons

Microsoft attributed a 380-million-gallon annual potable-water saving estimate to the project engineer. EPA later published 138 million. The reviewed sources do not supply a common baseline that reconciles the two figures, so DataCenterData uses the EPA estimate and preserves the discrepancy.

Contract documented

Microsoft bears project capital and operating costs

EPA describes a 30-year agreement: the city owns and operates the utility; Microsoft financed $31 million in capital investment and pays operating costs through service fees.Locator: EPA, “Financial and Contractual Agreements.”

Not verifiable

Total campus water consumption

The EPA case study quantifies reuse-system flows and estimated savings, not complete metered consumption for every building and cooling load on the campus.

Cooling and water classification

Architecture: evaporative heat rejection with cooling water cycled four to five times, followed by municipal treatment and recirculation. “Closed loop” describes the industrial wastewater circuit; it does not mean no evaporation.

Sources: recycled cooling water, Columbia Basin Project canal water for much of the make-up volume, and a small potable-groundwater share. Brine is concentrated in lined evaporation ponds.

Primary sources