Question reviewed
Answer
Verdict on the wording above: Contradicted as of Board communication read 1 November 2026 Reliable evidence conflicts with the claim as stated (unit, relationship, status or fact). It does not prove bad faith. How verdicts work →
- How it was framed
- A question DataCenterData examined; no one is quoted.
- What the evidence establishes
- No. The agreement form put to the Water Works board on 21 February 2024 sets five million gallons a day as a ceiling on Microsoft's combined peak-day data center use for at least seven years, ending only when the General Manager certifies it in writing, and says it is not a guaranteed amount of water, a priority right or a dedication of capacity. It is not a measure of use.
- Biggest limitation
- Microsoft's actual daily or annual water use in the West Des Moines system, the signed and dated agreement (the attachment is the form with a blank effective date), and whether the limitation period has ended.
- Checked
- 1 November 2026 · Next review: West Des Moines Water Works report of Microsoft's metered water use, or the executed agreement
Evidence
What the evidence supports
The board communication of 21 February 2024 recommends approval of an Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well Agreement with Microsoft for a 3 million gallon per day well, with Microsoft paying $12.25 million plus up to $750,000 more. In the attached agreement, Microsoft agrees not to exceed a total of five million gallons per day of peak day usage for its combined data center water use, covering six locations including Project Ruthenium in Polk, Dallas, Warren and Madison counties, for seven years or until added treatment capacity is in service, whichever is longer, and the limitation period continues until its conclusion is certified in writing by the Water Works General Manager. It states that the Maximum Usage Per Day 'is a ceiling on Customer's usage during the Limitation Period, and is not a guaranteed amount of water, a priority right, or a dedication of capacity.' The record gives no figure for Microsoft's actual water use.
Still unknown
Microsoft's actual daily or annual water use in the West Des Moines system, the signed and dated agreement (the attachment is the form with a blank effective date), and whether the limitation period has ended.
Sources
-
Board of Trustees Meeting Communication: Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well Agreement with Microsoft → Gov. record
Exact location Item 6.d, Financial Impact and Summary; Exhibit A, section 2(a) Customer Usage Limitations.
What it supports The five million gallons per day is a ceiling on peak-day use, not an allocation or a use figure.
Conflicting evidence
The contradiction is documented in the cited sources listed under Evidence. No separate counterevidence entry has been recorded yet.
Review details
Scope
- Unit
- peak-day water usage ceiling (gallons per day)
- Geography
- Microsoft's combined data center water use from West Des Moines Water Works (six locations including Project Ruthenium)
- Period
- agreement form presented to the board 21 February 2024; limitation period at least seven years
- As of
- Board communication read 1 November 2026
- Confidence
- high — Municipal water utility board communication with the agreement form attached; the agreement's own wording defines the figure as a ceiling.
- Kind
- Question reviewed
Chronology
- Published — Board of Trustees Meeting Communication: Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well Agreement with Microsoft
- Source retrieved
- Checked by DataCenterData
- Date not established Next review: West Des Moines Water Works report of Microsoft's metered water use, or the executed agreement
Corrections and history
No corrections or wording changes recorded for this claim.
Data
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