Most communities have or will be approached about building a data center in their service area. This presentation will present important considerations and steps utilities should take now to prepare for those discussions, evaluate the feasibility and desire to serve a data center, and maximize the benefit the community receives. Just a few years ago, the majority of data centers were centered in a few regions of the country, and communities were eager to have a big technology company come to town. These days, almost every community – large and small – has been approached about building a data center as technology use and AI exponentially increase the amount of data processing and storage needed. Also, public sentiment about data centers is shifting, with more public awareness of their tremendous power and water requirements, their large tax breaks, and the lack of long-term employment generally provided. In working with a wide range of utilities across the country considering or providing water and/or sewer service to data center(s), as well as directly with technology companies, it is clear the utilities do not understand the implications, challenges, and opportunities that come with a data center in their service area. The lack of understanding includes technology companies’ priorities, constraints, and resources; technical implications of data centers’ highly variable demands and effluent flows and quality; and potential long-term impacts. It is critical for utilities to start now to better understand the implications (both positive and negative) of serving a data center, to assess their ability to do so, and to talk with local stakeholders about if a data center is feasible and desired. Technology companies generally want answers quickly, and without prior planning communities can be left making uninformed decisions, or commonly for agreements to be made without utilities being aware or having a chance to weigh in. This presentation will discuss: • Observations from working with utilities, communities, and technology companies – including what they don’t understand about each other • How data centers use and produce water (quantity and quality), and the implications for utility design and operations • Assessing the feasibility of serving a data center – including short- and long-term factors • Opportunities for building win-win solutions that benefit the community • Steps utilities and communities should take now to be ready for conversations with data center companies.