A contractor working for Meta released bacteria-contaminated water into public sewers during the construction of an artificial intelligence datacenter in Wyoming, as reported by The Guardian.
The incident occurred in Cheyenne and led local water authorities to enforce strict safety regulations regarding wastewater disposal for such projects.
Meta ordered its general contractor, Fortis, to cooperate with the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) to ensure the situation does not happen again.
The tech company stated that the contamination involved Cupriavidus gilardii bacteria, which did not affect public drinking water supplies.
An independent environmental specialist hired by the contractor conducted separate water testing and found no trace of the bacteria.
The issue comes amid a nationwide backlash against resource-heavy datacenters, which critics argue place high demands on local water and energy resources.
The contamination was identified in February during routine testing of wastewater discharged from the cooling system at the High Plains Business Park facility.
Officials named Goat Systems LLC, a Delaware-based contractor working on the 800,000-square-foot facility known as Project Cosmo, as responsible.
Cheyenne permanently revoked Meta's authority to discharge waste into its treatment facilities, where water is recycled for irrigation in public parks.
The city adopted a new policy banning wastewater discharges from datacenters that utilize closed-loop cooling and fill-and-flush systems.
Frank Strong, BOPU's engineering and water resource division manager, explained that fill-and-flush systems circulate purified water to remove construction debris and pipe scale.
Cupriavidus gilardii is a naturally occurring soil bacterium classified by health experts as an opportunistic pathogen that harms individuals with weakened immune systems.
A March 2026 study in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases documented a patient who died of septic shock after contracting the infection during a cord blood transplantation.
Human infections remain rare, with only seven cases reported to date, including a 12-year-old American girl who died of sepsis in 2010.
Strong stated it was unknown when the bacterium entered the water, noting it appeared during routine fecal bacteria testing.
"The concern we have with our reuse system is we put it into aerosol, where we spray it onto the grass, and that increases the potential for health issues," Strong said.
The city resumed its irrigation program after the datacenter wastewater discharges ceased.
Meta and Contractor Responses
A Meta spokesperson stated the company took immediate action upon learning about the problems at Project Cosmo.
"When the board shared that it found a substance in the city’s wastewater - not public drinking water - Fortis immediately stopped discharging industrial wastewater and began hauling it offsite," the spokesperson said.
"Fortis also began its own water testing with an independent environmental specialist, which has found no trace of the substance."
"Meta is committed to being a good neighbor in Cheyenne, including through the protection of local water resources, and will continue encouraging collaboration between Fortis and the board until this situation is resolved."
Erin Lamb, BOPU’s administrative and public affairs coordinator, stated via email that the city will host a press conference in the coming weeks.
Public opposition to Project Cosmo had been increasing prior to the bacteria discovery.
Environmental concerns have been raised regarding the safety and integrity of closed-loop cooling systems utilized by tech companies.
The new regulations in Cheyenne require companies using closed-loop cooling systems to implement separate collection systems to direct water into storage tanks for offsite disposal.
