WaterMark / Jurisdictions / Laramie County, WY (Cheyenne)
Laramie County, WY (Cheyenne): Data Center Water Impact
Reference data for evaluating a data center proposal in Laramie County, WY (Cheyenne). Every figure below is a stored value with its primary source attached. Facility-scale results are produced by the assessment tool.
Water supply
| Metric | Value | Source / basis |
|---|---|---|
| Water utility | Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities | Utility of record |
| Supply source | Crow Creek + Stage I/II (Little Snake/Colorado) + groundwater | Utility of record |
| Treatment capacity | 45 MGD | Water stress: WRI Aqueduct 4.0 (Kuzma et al. 2023), Crow Creek basin HUC-8 10190009, Medium-High category (semi-arid High Plains). Utility data: Cheyenne BOPU 2024 ACFR. |
| Water rate | $6.65 / 1,000 gal | Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities published rate schedule |
| Watershed stress | Medium-High (2.5 / 5) | Water stress: WRI Aqueduct 4.0 (Kuzma et al. 2023), Crow Creek basin HUC-8 10190009, Medium-High category (semi-arid High Plains). Utility data: Cheyenne BOPU 2024 ACFR. |
Watershed consumptive use
Basin: Crow (HUC-8 10190009). Figures are consumptive use, not withdrawal, because evaporative data center loss is consumptive. USGS data year 2015.
| Category | Consumptive use (MGD) | Share of basin |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 15.9 | 8.4% |
| Thermoelectric power | 0.1 | 0.1% |
| Industrial | 1.2 | 0.6% |
| Irrigation | 170.9 | 90.6% |
| Mining | 0.6 | 0.3% |
| Existing data centers | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 188.7 | 100.0% |
Total is the sum of the categories listed above. Shares are each category divided by that total. Source: USGS Estimated Use of Water 2015, county-level data release (Dieter et al. 2018), Laramie County, WY. Values are 2015 freshwater withdrawals (Mgal/d).
Grid generation water (Scope 2)
Generating the electricity a data center consumes evaporates water at the power plant. That volume is real, it is attributable, and it is excluded from most corporate "water positive" accounting. On a thermal grid it is frequently comparable to the facility's own cooling water.
| Metric | Value | Source / basis |
|---|---|---|
| Grid region | WECC (Western Interconnection) | WECC |
| Electric utility | Black Hills Energy (Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power) | Utility of record |
| Grid water intensity | 0.5 gal / kWh | Macknick et al. 2012 consumption factors, weighted by Wyoming coal-heavy mix (~58% coal, EIA / EIA) |
| Local peak demand | 212 MW | WECC |
| Modeled rate impact | 14% to 30% | See methodology |
Where this water is consumed: Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station (Black Hills, natural gas) sits in Cheyenne, so some Scope 2 water is consumed locally. However the bulk of WY coal generation (e.g. Laramie River Station) is in Platte County, outside the Crow Creek basin, so most Scope 2 water is in other basins.
Run this county at your facility size. The assessment tool computes direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) water for a specific load, cooling system, and mitigation stack, with the same citations attached.
Reducing the footprint here
A high stress reading is a design constraint, not a verdict. Closed-loop and dry or hybrid cooling, adiabatic assist, immersion, and reclaimed or non-potable sourcing each move the direct number, and siting against a cleaner grid mix moves the indirect number. The solutions catalog lists each option with its water reduction, its energy and cost tradeoff, and its source.
Regulatory and siting status
Cheyenne. Microsoft + Meta presence. Coal-heavy WECC mix (~58% coal) makes Scope 2 water intensity the highest in the set (~0.50 gal/kWh). Semi-arid High Plains; Black Hills Energy local system is small (~212 MW peak). Cold high-desert climate is excellent for free cooling.
- Cool climate
Sources: Water: Cheyenne BOPU 2024 ACFR. Grid: WECC (Black Hills Energy, coal-heavy). WY DC sales-tax exemption (W.S. 39-15-105).
Comparative siting scores for this county, alongside every other county tracked, are on the US Siting Matrix.
How these numbers are derived
Assumptions, formulas, and the full source list are in the methodology. WaterMark is published by Standard Water Corp and is not affiliated with any data center developer, utility, or government agency.