Utility risk and resilience
Our team provides assessment of water and wastewater utility capacity, reliability, redundancy and quality to support confident site selection, scalable infrastructure planning and long‑term operational reliability.
Client
Confidential Client
Location
North America
Markets
Providing support for hyperscale data center development with a full range of water expertise
Water due diligence is critical to the success of new data center developments because it identifies water and wastewater constraints early, when site selection, design, and permitting decisions can still be influenced. Early insight reduces schedule risk and supports long‑term operational reliability across multi‑campus development programs.
CDM Smith provides global water due diligence and flood‑risk assessment support for a confidential hyperscale data center developer to inform site selection, infrastructure strategy, and early permitting decisions. Our work evaluates potable and cooling water supply, wastewater collection and disposal, surface water management, firefighting provisions, PFAS and emerging contaminant risk, utility reliability, and long‑term resilience across domestic and international, multi‑campus data center portfolios.
Cooling water availability
We assess cooling water supply constraints, future demand projections and alternative water source feasibility, including climate‑informed demand analysis to support resilient, performance‑driven design decisions.
Global expertise
We have provided experience supporting hyperscale data center campuses across the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, with regionally informed regulatory, infrastructure and utility insights.
Integrated delivery support
We collaborate with client water teams, consultant primes, utilities and regulators to support gated due diligence, design and permitting decisions with schedule certainty.
CDM Smith has supported water due diligence efforts for a confidential hyperscale data center developer across multiple U.S. and international markets. Our work includes pre‑due diligence research, water infrastructure assessments, and support for active due diligence programs. We have also completed water due diligence and water source evaluations for hyperscale data center campuses, informing assessments of supply feasibility, resilience and long‑term operability.
Our due diligence scope evaluates potable and cooling water supply, wastewater collection and disposal, surface water management and firefighting provisions, with a focus on utility performance and reliability. Where relevant, CDM Smith has completed PFAS assessments for data center developments, evaluating source water risk, regulatory implications and potential treatment or mitigation considerations to support informed site selection and permitting decisions. For select projects, CDM Smith has identified cooling water constraints, projected future demand using historic weather data with climate change considerations, completed hydrogeologic evaluations to assess groundwater feasibility and coordinated with utilities and regulatory agencies.
Client
Confidential Client
Location
North America