The Chelan-Douglas Port Authority has agreed to upgrade and install additional water wells for the Microsoft data center in Malaga.

Microsoft bought the 102-acre property for roughly $9 million.

On August 9, the port authority agreed to extend their 18-inch water line and to add additional water wells onto the site.

The water will help to cool Microsoft’s six planned cloud storage structures, along with providing running water for employees.

On May 24, Port CEO Jim Kuntz got approval to order pipeline materials 5-7 months in advance for contractor RH2 Engineering. 

Microsoft initially capped the water usage at 250 gallons per minute (gpm), a peak hour demand (PHD) of 1,200 gpm, and a fire flow demand (FF) of 2,500 gpm.

After reassessing their calculations, the new water usage rate for all proposed six buildings is 540 gpm average and 1,740 gpm during peak demand. 

Malaga Water District wrote that after much negotiation, they have entered into an agreement with both the port and Microsoft.

“We have very carefully checked with our engineer to be sure that we will have adequate supply for our residential customers as well as this building now and into the future. Microsoft is putting in any upgrades to the system required at their cost, which is standard for new developments. We are in ongoing negotiations for future buildings that will depend on our water supply and future test results. This may allow us to upgrade our system at no cost to the district.”

Installation costs total to $4 million, which will be compensated by Microsoft. The port has until the end of September 2023 to get water to the property.

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