Data centers are becoming part of Arizona’s growth conversation, but residents deserve facts, transparency, and stronger safeguards around water use, power demand, noise, infrastructure costs, public reporting, and long-term community impact.
Maricopa residents deserve honest information about data centers. Not fear. Not campaign-season talking points. Not headlines turned into policy positions overnight. They deserve facts, transparency, and leaders who have already been paying attention.
I have been researching and speaking publicly about data centers long before I became a candidate for the Maricopa City Council. I have spoken at Pinal County Board of Supervisors meetings and Planning and Zoning meetings. I have asked questions about water usage, energy demand, noise, public reporting, transparency, and accountability.
I have also gone out and done my own research. I traveled to Chandler and visited several data center sites to hear the noise firsthand. I spoke with neighbors. I knocked on doors. I asked people who actually live near these facilities what bothers them. What I learned matters. For some residents, the low hum was not the biggest concern. The weekly generator testing was. They described it as loud, obnoxious, and disruptive.
That is the kind of detail you only learn when you get out of the meeting room and talk to the people living with the impacts.
Data centers are not just about artificial intelligence. AI is part of the discussion, but it is not the whole story. Data centers support the systems we all use every day, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, financial systems, medical records, cloud storage, online business platforms, public safety systems, and countless private companies. The reality is simple. Data centers are here to stay.
But accepting that reality does not mean giving every proposal a blank check.
The biggest question we should be asking is this: Is Arizona the right place for the number and size of data centers now being proposed?
Arizona has a water shortage, so water must be part of the conversation. At the same time, not every data center uses water the same way. The project that recently had its zoning approved stated it would use a closed-loop water system, not the large, water-consuming systems we have seen raise concerns in other parts of the country. That distinction matters. It is also exactly why strong reporting and regulations are needed. If a company says it will use a closed-loop system, then there should be clear requirements to verify that, monitor it, and report ongoing water use to the public. Trust is good. Verification is better.
These projects can also require large amounts of power. Some may require backup generators, battery storage, or other infrastructure that impacts surrounding communities. Residents deserve to know how water will be used, where it will come from, how it will be monitored, and whether the public will have access to that information. We also need to understand who pays for any needed infrastructure improvements. That answer should not automatically be the taxpayer or the ratepayer.
We also need to stop offering or allowing possible tax breaks for projects that create major resource demands without first proving a clear public benefit. If a data center requires significant water, power, roads, emergency response planning, or infrastructure support, then the public should not be asked to subsidize it while also carrying the long-term impacts. Economic development should benefit the community, not just the company asking for approval.
There is another side to this issue that does not get enough attention. I spoke with a business owner who moved his company to North Carolina to be near a data center because it helped support his business. That sounds like a success story at first. But now he is building his own small data center, roughly the size of a six-foot table, because the data center he moved near doubled his cost overnight. No notice. No ability to negotiate. No meaningful warning. That should concern us, too.
If businesses become dependent on these facilities, what protections are in place when costs change overnight? What happens when a company builds part of its future around access to a data center, only to find itself priced out later? That is not a reason to reject every data center. It is a reason to ask better questions before we build our economic hopes around them.
We should also be asking why Arizona is suddenly seeing so many requests for new zoning approvals. Is it because Arizona is the best long-term location? Is it because we have the right infrastructure? Is it because companies believe they can operate responsibly here? Or is it because some municipalities and counties do not yet have strong enough regulations, reporting requirements, and standards?
That question matters.
Municipalities need to stay ahead of the game. They cannot play catch-up after zoning is approved, facilities are built, generators are running, water is being used, and residents are asking why no one planned for the impacts.
Recently, there has been discussion about a data center being “approved.” It is important to be accurate. In many cases, what has been approved is a zoning change or land-use action, not final approval of an actual data center. Those details matter because residents deserve clarity, not confusion.
I also spoke about the La Osa project, which was recently tabled by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. That decision matters because it shows the county is taking a longer, harder look at what is happening across the country and considering the need for better regulations and standards. That is the right direction.
This issue is not about being automatically for or against every data center. It is about being informed. It is about asking hard questions before approval, not after. It is about protecting residents, water, infrastructure, and quality of life while still understanding the realities of technology and economic development.
I have asked for simple, responsible safeguards: water-use reporting, noise standards, generator-testing rules, power-demand transparency, infrastructure accountability, limits on potential tax breaks, clear public communication, honest economic-impact information, and strong coordination among the city, Pinal County, nearby communities, and affected residents.
Growth is coming. Technology is changing. Data centers will continue to be part of the conversation. But Maricopa and Pinal County should not be caught flat-footed. We should be informed. We should be prepared. And we should expect our leaders to know the difference between reacting to a headline and doing the work before the headline appears.
That is the kind of leadership I believe residents deserve.
Tena Dugan
Tena Dugan is a lifelong Arizonan and proud Maricopa resident since 2013. A licensed REALTOR® with West USA Realty, seven-year HOA Board President, and community advocate with over two decades of civic involvement, Tena knows what it takes to show up and get things done. She has served on the City of Maricopa Parks, Recreation and Library Board, the Citizen Transportation Tax Oversight Committee, and the Pinal County Transportation Board. As a wife, mother of four Maricopa High School graduates, and grandmother, she is deeply invested in the future of this community. Tena is running for Maricopa City Council because she believes every resident deserves a seat at the table — and your vote is your voice.
