The data center boom reaches Hillsboro, OR.
In Fayette County, Georgia, a data center used over 30 million gallons of water without paying for it. Investigators eventually found two industrial hookups that weren't being monitored. One hookup had been installed without the utility's knowledge. This happened while drought conditions had local officials asking residents to cut back on personal water use. Ars Technica covered the story this week.
Data centers are booming worldwide thanks to AI. Hillsboro, just west of Portland, OR, is feeling the pressure.
Hillsboro has 18 data center sites built or under construction as of March 2026. On Tuesday, June 2nd, the Hillsboro City Council will hold a public work session at the Civic Center to discuss the data centers and whether or not to place a temporary pause on new permits. The work session is open to the public and you can also participate online.
A few things have already been decided at the state level. The Oregon Legislature passed HB 4084, putting a moratorium on new data center Enterprise Zone applications starting June 6, 2026. That puts a state pause on tax-abatement. The 2025 POWER Act (HB 3546) created a special electricity rate class so large users like data centers pay their own grid costs instead of shifting them to households.
The numbers people are arguing about don't all line up. The City of Hillsboro reports that data centers use 111 million gallons across 14 sites. That's 1.76 percent of the city's total water demand in 2025. The Tualatin Riverkeepers estimate that a single large-scale data center can use up to 4.5 million gallons of water per day. Hillsboro City Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair has said residential electricity rates have risen nearly 50%. Data centers pay less than half the per-kilowatt-hour rate residents do. This is largely due to subsidies for infrastructure like the $200 million Hillsboro substation. Statewide, data centers used about 11% of Oregon's electricity in 2023. That share is expected to double over the next three to four years.
Hillsboro's situation is a question about pace and oversight. Not a judgement on whether data centers should exist. The state has paused new tax breaks and the city is deciding whether to also pause new permits. Local journalism and community organizing have raised real questions about cost-shifting, water use, and rate fairness.
If you live in Hillsboro, here are a few things you can do:
Read the city's FAQ. The Hillsboro Data Centers page lays out the city's position with tables and rate comparisons.
Read the Hillsboro Herald open letter and KATU's coverage of the local petition for the perspective of community organizers.
Mark June 2. Tuesday at 6 pm at the Hillsboro Civic Center. Watch online or show up. Public work sessions are where city councils gather facts before deciding, so this is the time to weigh in.
Watch the Governor's report. The proposed Hillsboro pause is tied to its release.
The 18 sites are a count as of March 2026. The state moratorium covers tax breaks, but not construction.
Joel
If you live in Hillsboro and have a story or an experience with data centers, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at joel@freshfromcache.com
Sources:
Ars Technica, Data center used 30 million gallons of water without initially paying
City of Hillsboro, Data Centers in Hillsboro FAQ
KATU, In Hillsboro, petition seeks pause on new data centers amid energy and farmland concerns
KLCC, Oregon's Data Center Explosion: Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost?
Oregon Center for Public Policy, "We've Been Very Foolish": Inside Oregon's Data Center Boom
Hillsboro Herald, An Open Letter to Hillsboro on Data Centers' Future
Oregon Department of Energy, Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee