Nanaimo city councillors approved new requirements for future data storage centre rezoning applications following criticism over inadequate water and power usage disclosures during past project approvals, according to municipal records and council interviews.
Nanaimo Councillor Seeks Strict Water Disclosures After Past Rezoning Votes
Detailed information on water and power usage must be provided before any future data centre rezonings gain approval in Nanaimo, according to Coun. Hilary Eastmure. In an interview, Eastmure stated she felt completely in the dark regarding what the East Wellington Road storage centre project actually entailed when council approved its rezoning across lots in 2022 and 2023.
Eastmure won election to council in 2022 while the project sat between third and fourth readings. She noted that none of her questions about data centre water use received answers because council rules barred new information at that stage, forcing her to rely solely on materials given to the previous council.
Did you know? A standard data storage centre uses less water and power than an AI data centre, which faces mounting calls for stricter regulations across Canada due to heavy resource consumption, according to B.C. Green Party leader Emily Lowan.
Official Community Plan Amended to Mandate Resource Consumption Data
Following a motion introduced by Eastmure, Nanaimo city council passed a directive on July 20 instructing city staff to amend the city’s Official Community Plan. Future rezoning applications for data centres must now include detailed metrics on daily and yearly water use, energy consumption, and formal energy- and water-conservation plans.
Ben Geselbracht voiced similar concerns regarding the 2022-2023 approvals, noting a lack of clear information on water usage that led him to vote against the project three times.
Comparing Data Centre Water Limits and Enforcement Levers
City data released last November estimated the approved Nanaimo data centre’s water usage between 55,000 and 69,000 litres per day. Jeremy Holm, the city’s director of planning and development, explained that this figure emerged from water modelling conducted during the development permit stage by the numbered company behind the project.
To enforce limits, the city and the company signed a water-use covenant in February that establishes an annual rent charge of $60,000. Holm stated this charge functions effectively as a penalty payable if consumption exceeds the maximum permitted usage of 6.5 litres per second over any one-minute period. The owner is exempt from the charge if usage stays below that threshold.
However, Eastmure questioned the strength of that deterrent. She noted that $60,000 to a large corporation is perhaps just the cost of doing business, adding that enforcement protocols remain unclear regarding consistent water overuse.
Holm confirmed that while the covenant permits the city to withhold building and occupancy permits or seek court injunctions for breaches, no maximum annual consumption cap exists for general water users in Nanaimo outside of this specific rent-charge mechanism.
Broader Regulatory Concerns and Project Timeline
B.C. Green Party leader Emily Lowan criticized the $60,000 penalty during a visit to Nanaimo, describing it as effectively giving a parking ticket to a billionaire. Lowan previously called for a moratorium on AI data centre construction across B.C. and expressed deep concern over the Nanaimo facility and similar projects due to shared water and electricity demands.
According to Holm, the City of Nanaimo has not yet received a building-permit application for the proposed data centre. The development permit, issued in March, expires if construction does not begin within two years, leaving the timing entirely at the discretion of the proponent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggered the new data centre rules in Nanaimo?
Coun. Hilary Eastmure introduced a motion after raising concerns that past rezoning approvals lacked adequate information regarding water and power usage.
How much water is the approved Nanaimo data centre expected to use?
City estimates place usage between 55,000 and 69,000 litres per day, with a maximum covenant limit of 6.5 litres per second over any one-minute period.
What happens if the data centre exceeds its water limit?
The company faces a $60,000 annual rent charge penalty, and the city retains the authority to withhold building and occupancy permits or seek court injunctions.
Has construction started on the facility?
No. According to the city’s planning department, a building permit has not yet been submitted, and the development permit issued in March expires in two years if work does not begin.
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