(The Center Square) – A proposal to temporarily restrict developments like data centers from using large amounts of water from Caddo Lake failed to advance in a Monday work session of the Caddo Parish Commission.
Commissioner Chris Kracman had suggested a one-year moratorium and a study on whether the lake can withstand large withdrawals and any impacts on the environment. No other commission member supported a vote on it.
His proposal coincides with talks of a data center near Blanchard, where the town council agreed in December to sell water to a large-scale user reportedly purchasing hundreds of acres near Latex and State Line roads for a data center campus.
“It’s a shame that you all didn’t want to have a conversation,” Kracman told his colleagues. His district includes many rural communities north of Shreveport, like Blanchard, Oil City and Mooringsport, to the Arkansas line.
However, commissioners said they were hesitant to impose a moratorium on a project they know very little about. Not all aspects of the Blanchard data center have been disclosed.
“What I know for a fact is that Blanchard has entered into some type of agreement with a developer who is requesting 1.5 million gallons of water a day,” Kracman said.
The commission’s approach could further encourage data center developers looking for friendly local governments and favorable tax policies. In early December, commissioners signed on to a 25-year tax break for data centers that reach certain investment levels and job creation thresholds. The Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority would administer the payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑tax structures.
Across the country, the number of data centers is increasing at a rapid pace to keep up with the artificial intelligence boom and more streaming and data usage.
Louisiana last year used generous tax breaks to lure two multibillion-dollar data centers serving Meta in Richland Parish and Hut 8 in West Feliciana Parish.
Communities have resisted the computer farms, pointing to their needs for massive amounts of water and electricity and their potential to produce noise. Melissa Beckett, who lives nearby in Texas, told the Caddo Commission she worried about light and noise pollution and water becoming more scarce.
Similar concerns led to the cancellation of a data center in New Orleans East. The city has put a one-year pause on all data center projects so it can evaluate zoning definitions, standards and other land use controls, according to city council documents.
Governments in northwest Louisiana have been more lenient. The Shreveport City Council in December unanimously agreed to a permit for a large data center in the western portion of the city, despite objections from dozens of residents who attended the meeting.
The council’s vote overturned an earlier decision by the Metropolitan Planning Commission that had effectively blocked the 2.8 million-square-foot facility at Resilient Technology Park.
Developers appealed that decision to the council, who said the city couldn’t afford to turn down the potential tax revenue from the project.
