Columbus City Council directed its water utility to develop higher rates for data centers and semiconductor plants, a move that could raise costs across the New Albany International Business Park.

The council ordered Columbus Water and Power to create a tiered rate structure for high-volume users, WSYX ABC6 reported. The ordinance does not impose new rates immediately. Columbus Water and Power has until Oct. 26 to present a proposal to council.

The ordinance names data centers, chip fabrication facilities, breweries, beverage and food manufacturers, and agricultural processors as potential targets. New Albany's business park hosts 40 data centers operated by Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, with more on the way.

That matters here because New Albany is a contract community. The city finances and builds its own water and sewer lines, but Columbus provides the water and purification, according to the city's data center FAQ.

New Albany has no say over those rates.

Council President Shannon Hardin, who co-sponsored the ordinance with Councilmember Christopher Wyche, pointed directly at communities outside Columbus that host data centers but rely on Columbus infrastructure.

"It's mostly other cities in Franklin County that are cutting data center deals. That's where your revenue is blowing," Hardin told WSYX ABC6 on Sept. 15. "While Columbus Water and Power gets stuck building the infrastructure necessary to provide the water without any of the revenue to help pay for it."

Wyche said in a statement to NBC4 that residents are tired of footing the bill for businesses to expand, and that the ordinance requires Columbus Water and Power to recommend higher rates or charges for data centers and other high-volume users.

The push follows an 18% water rate increase that took effect Jan. 1. That hike added an estimated $10.48 per month for the average residential customer. Columbus is also planning a fourth water treatment plant expected to cost more than $1 billion, though the project may be delayed after contractors failed to submit bids, WOSU reported.

The proposed rate structure could include charges that rise with consumption, monthly capacity fees, minimum bills, infrastructure contribution charges or seasonal pricing.

Columbus Water and Power Director Kristen Atha told NBC4 that the utility is considering a "peaking rate" to recover the cost of large pipes and reserved capacity that industrial users require but do not always use.

New Albany officials have not publicly responded to the ordinance. But city records offer context on local water use. In late 2025, the 12,000-acre business park consumed about 9 million gallons per day, roughly 56% of the 16 million gallons allotted under a 2015 service plan with Columbus, according to News 5 Cleveland. Google's New Albany data center alone used more than 1 billion gallons in 2025.

New Albany Development Director Jennifer Chrysler told city council at an April 21 meeting that regular data center water use was less than manufacturing would require day to day. She said water use spiked on only five or six peak days per year, and those events were coordinated with Columbus.

Data center operations generated $10 million in community development charge revenue for New Albany in tax year 2024, according to city financial records. A single hyperscaler generated payroll-equivalent revenue of $178 million that same year.

The ordinance received its first reading on Monday, Sept. 14, and is scheduled for a second reading on Sept. 28. Columbus Water and Power must present its rate proposal by Oct. 26.