Mark Zuckerberg · Meta · The Guardian Technology
Wyoming tightens wastewater rules after Meta datacenter contractor flushed contaminated water
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Officials in Wyoming said a contractor for Mark Zuckerberg ’s tech company, Meta, flushed bacteria-contaminated water into public sewers during construction of a controversial new AI datacenter.
Key facts
- Officials identified Goat Systems LLC, a Delaware-based contractor on the 800,000 sq ft facility known as Project Cosmo, as being responsible
- A March 2026 study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases found a patient who died of septic shock after contracting an infection from Cupriavidus gilardii during a cord blood
- The Cheyenne contamination was discovered in February during routine testing of wastewater discharged into public sewers from the cooling system of the datacenter campus in the High Plains Business
- Sent to the Guardian, a Meta spokesperson said the company took action immediately when it became aware of problems with Project Cosmo
Summary
The incident prompted water authorities in Cheyenne to implement strict safety regulations on how wastewater from such projects is disposed of, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, which first reported the incident. Meta has ordered its general contractor, Fortis, to cooperate with the Cheyenne board of public utilities (BOPU) to ensure there is no repeat, the newspaper said, insisting it wanted to be “a good neighbor”. The company, however, noted that contamination by the rare but naturally occurring Cupriavidus gilardii bacteria did not affect drinking water supplies, and that its contractor’s own water testing by an independent environmental specialist found no trace of it. The incident comes amid growing nationwide backlash to the construction of resource-hungry datacenters, which opponents say place unbearable demands on local water and energy supplies.