Carroll County asks water district what impact industry could have

Published 5:00 am Saturday, October 17, 2026

BERRYVILLE – The Carroll County committee tasked with studying industrial and high-impact projects met again on Thursday. The committee was formed to study which regulatory and permitting measures may be necessary for such projects to avoid situations in which they occur without the county’s knowledge or cause undue burden to existing infrastructure and residents.

JP Jack Deaton left the committee, and JP Hunter Rivett was appointed to replace him. JPs Gary Capsik, Harrie Farrow, Matt Phillips and Bobby James make up the rest of the committee.

Throughout the meetings the committee has held to date, it has grappled with how best to craft regulations to prevent unwanted or destructive projects from entering the county. Ideas like regulating noise or water and electricity usage have been floated. They have discussed the required care necessary in crafting such rules to avoid hampering business growth in the county. There is concern about the unintended consequences such regulations may cause.

With developments in data centers and other industrial technologies seemingly occurring daily, the committee is trying to thread a regulatory needle that remains evergreen. For example, on Thursday, the committee invited Barry Connell of the Carroll-Boone Water District to provide information on the impact on the water supply if data centers were to appear in the county. In short, Connell said that, given the different types of data centers, developments in their technology, and their sizes, he wasn’t able to give a meaningful answer.

Some data centers have been reported to require as little as 6,000 gallons of water a day. Connell said that wouldn’t be a problem to supply, but asked the council to consider what state that water would be in when it left the center. Others using millions of gallons of water a day were apparently comparable to poultry farms already present in the county. The committee also discussed how infrastructure in some parts of the county would be better able to accommodate increased output than in others.

As they gather more information, the committee said it plans to have additional guests explain local impacts, including those from electric utilities.

Another challenge facing the committee is in crafting legally enforceable rules. They discussed the potential need for the county to hire a part-time or full-time lawyer to write and review ordinances. As it currently stands, the committee seemed in agreement that the county prosecutor was usually fully engaged in court cases and wasn’t able to devote much time to other matters. Hiring dedicated legal counsel, a position that would fall directly under the county judge, could theoretically give the quorum court greater access to an expert who could help them craft sounder ordinances.

As the committee continues to gather information on high-impact industrial projects, it is realizing just how big the issue is. It puts a sparsely populated rural county in the position of having to become experts in everything, everywhere, all at once.