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 checked: 10 September 2026
QuestionWhat do the published water-reuse figures measure for Microsoft’s Quincy campus—and what do they not measure?
FindingEPA documents a city-owned Quincy Water Reuse Utility that became operational on 30 June 2021 under a 30-year city–Microsoft finance/operating agreement. EPA estimates 138 million gallons/year of potable-water demand offset. Microsoft financed $31 million of capital. The system recirculates cooling water after treatment; evaporation still requires make-up water, including Columbia Basin Project canal water.
30 yearsCity–Microsoft finance and operating agreement (EPA)
260M gal/yrColumbia Basin Project canal make-up cited by EPA
30 Jun 2021QWRU operational date (EPA)
Timeline
More than 10 years of planning
EPA describes more than a decade of planning and construction before the utility opened.
Reuse utility begins operation
EPA: the Quincy Water Reuse Utility officially became operational. As of 2022, only Microsoft’s campus was connected among industrial users contemplated.
138M gal/yr potable offset published
Government estimate of annual potable demand offset from reuse—not a campus-wide meter total.
Quantities and claim class
Observed (government)
Operating reuse utility and 30-year agreement
EPA states the city owns and operates the QWRU; Microsoft financed capital and related costs under a 30-year agreement.
Estimate (government)
138 million gallons/year potable savings
EPA “Demand Offset” figure. Unit is estimated potable-water avoided, not measured campus withdrawal.
Estimate (government)
260 million gallons/year canal make-up
EPA cites Columbia Basin Project / Quincy Irrigation District canal water primarily in summer peak cooling periods.
Company claim retained separately
Microsoft launch narrative
Microsoft’s local blog is recorded as a company account (including its larger volume figure). It does not override the EPA estimate on this page.
Claims
A verdict applies only to the wording shown.
Company claims are shown as stated; they are not findings.
Water & cooling · Microsoft Quincy
Sources re-read on 12 September 2026 (software-assisted second check, not an outside audit)
Checked 12 September 2026 · Next check: Recheck current operating status against a later agency or utility record
EPA documents an operating water-reuse system serving Microsoft's Quincy campus.
What the evidence supports
EPA documents operation beginning June 30, 2021 and describes a city-operated treatment and recirculation system serving Microsoft's campus. EPA estimates 138 million gallons per year of potable-water savings, reports about 260 million gallons per year of canal-water makeup and says potable groundwater supplies about 5% of annual makeup. These are different measures and are not additive total consumption or a current meter audit.
Biggest limitation
Current measured withdrawal, consumption and discharge;
Still unknown
Current measured withdrawal, consumption and discharge; a reconciled explanation of Microsoft's separate 380-million-gallon estimate; and operating changes after EPA's dated observations.
Confidence: high — government case study · 1 source
From Microsoft Quincy: Supported as delivered; combined measures and a 2021-2022 observation window
To EPA documents an operating reuse system; distinct estimates and dated observations are separated
Why The second review separated estimated savings, canal makeup and potable makeup share and removed an unsupported original-publication year.
Evidence No additional evidence link; see the linked record or claim.
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.
Unresolved matters
Current campus-total metered withdrawal and consumption (all sources).
Independent audit of the 138M gal/yr estimate against recent operating years.
Whether additional industrial users later connected beyond Microsoft.
Review date on this page follows the Microsoft Quincy record check token and is not advanced merely because wording was clarified.
Recorded information
What this page records, grouped by topic, with the source's units and qualifications. Company-reported values stay labeled as company-reported. Related listings are shown separately.
Reviewed record microsoft-quincy
Campus · Microsoft. Independently reviewed record. Values are shown with their recorded basis.
Recorded water statement, not a power capacity and not a measured figure.
Sources, dates, limitations and corrections
Sources: 1 cited source, listed on this page
Not yet recorded here: Area, acreage and buildings · Power capacity · Connectivity · Services · Certifications and design ratings · Rack density · Availability · Specification links and contact · Permits, incentives, jobs and proceedings.
Update this profile with a public source. The request includes topics needing more information; this does not mean the facility lacks them. Corrections and additions are reviewed before publication.
Data + actions
Suggest a correction → Record ID microsoft-quincy and the page are prefilled. Accepted material corrections appear on Changes.
1 statement(s) naming an operator or presence at this site unit, one row per source. A building with several tenants is one facility with several presence rows.
These citations belong to the linked reviewed records. They do not establish every figure or present-day operating status. Publication and retrieval dates are shown separately; an unstated date remains unknown.
US EPA case study· record microsoft-quincy · published date not stated (recorded date note: 2023) · retrieved
Details still needed
34 fields in the shared profile are not established for this record. Each states why; missing information does not mean zero or absence.
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Jurisdiction and policy actions
Policy actions are matched to this facility by jurisdiction (state, county, municipality or utility), never by the facility's name. A match means the action covers the place, not that it names or affects this facility.
We plan to re-check this facility every 180 days because it has a reviewed record. Next check due . The last-checked date is the newest evidence date among this facility's sources. Dates are measured against the newest input date, , not the day this page was built.
Corrections
· The second review separated estimated savings, canal makeup and potable makeup share and removed an unsupported original-publication year. details
Update this profile with a public source. The request includes topics needing more information; this does not mean the facility lacks them. Corrections and additions are reviewed before publication.
These questions are open. Nothing has been merged or dismissed; a reviewer resolves each with captured evidence.
A possible duplicate of Microsoft MWH Data Center (fac-001099) is under review (reason: city_only_ambiguous, opened ; hold hold-000050). Evidence needed: A street address, parcel id or coordinate source for the city-only row identifying which candidate (if any) it describes.
A possible duplicate of Microsoft MWH Data Center (fac-001099) is under review (reason: city_only_single_candidate, opened ; hold hold-000213). Evidence needed: A street address, parcel id or coordinate source for the city-only row, or a reviewed decision on the candidate.
Rights for this record
For each populated field, the origin of the value shown on this page and the terms it carries. Values that are not redistributable may be read and cited here but are not relicensed.