WaterMark / Jurisdictions / Sarpy County, NE (Omaha metro)
Sarpy County, NE (Omaha metro): Data Center Water Impact
Reference data for evaluating a data center proposal in Sarpy County, NE (Omaha metro). 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 | Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD) | Utility of record |
| Supply source | Missouri River / Platte River wellfields | Utility of record |
| Treatment capacity | 99 MGD | Water stress: WRI Aqueduct 4.0 (Kuzma et al. 2023), Papillion basin HUC-8 10230006, Low-Medium category (Missouri R. + Ogallala). Utility data: Metropolitan Utilities District (avg 99 MGD). |
| Water rate | $2.90 / 1,000 gal | Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD) published rate schedule |
| Watershed stress | Low-Medium (1.4 / 5) | Water stress: WRI Aqueduct 4.0 (Kuzma et al. 2023), Papillion basin HUC-8 10230006, Low-Medium category (Missouri R. + Ogallala). Utility data: Metropolitan Utilities District (avg 99 MGD). |
Watershed consumptive use
Basin: Papillion (HUC-8 10230006). 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 | 30.9 | 87.5% |
| Thermoelectric power | 0 | 0.0% |
| Industrial | 0.1 | 0.3% |
| Irrigation | 4 | 11.3% |
| Mining | 0.3 | 0.8% |
| Existing data centers | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 35.3 | 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), Sarpy County, NE. 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 | Southwest Power Pool (SPP) | SPP |
| Electric utility | Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) | Utility of record |
| Grid water intensity | 0.3 gal / kWh | Macknick et al. 2012 consumption factors, weighted by OPPD coal+gas+wind mix (SPP; EIA) |
| Local peak demand | 2,980 MW | SPP |
| Modeled rate impact | 6% to 14% | See methodology |
Where this water is consumed: OPPD operates a gas combustion-turbine plant (Sarpy/Turtle Creek Station) in the county, but its baseload coal (Nebraska City) and wind PPAs are outside the Papillion basin, and CTs are largely air-cooled. Most Scope 2 water is consumed elsewhere on the Missouri/SPP system.
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
Omaha metro / Papillion — Meta hyperscale campus. Missouri River + Platte wellfield supply is abundant (Low-Medium stress). OPPD public power is cheap, but a coal share above the SPP average lifts Scope 2 water intensity.
- Hyperscale activity
Sources: Water: Metropolitan Utilities District. Grid: SPP (OPPD). Nebraska Advantage DC incentives.
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.