Guysss… Oregon has a problem — and it’s a big one this time.
In Morrow County, out in eastern Oregon, people are reporting higher rates of certain cancers and miscarriages — and experts think the culprit might be lurking in the drinking water.
And here’s the twist: some of those experts say Amazon’s data centers might be making things worse.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Amazon data centers don’t even use nitrates… so why the blame?”
Great question. Because this whole story is basically one giant plot twist.
So, Morrow County is packed with mega-farms and food-processing plants, right? Those already dump nitrate-heavy wastewater into the environment, and yes that's been an issue for years. But then Amazon showed up, built multiple data centers, and started pulling tens of millions of gallons of groundwater to cool their servers.
Here’s where things go sideways:
When you pull that much water out, wastewater shifts around… and nitrates get pushed deeper into the aquifer people rely on.
And the soil in this area? Super porous. Like “pour in a cup of water and it instantly vanishes” porous. Meaning nitrates don’t stay put, they sink straight down.
Rolling Stone found wells testing at 73 parts per million of nitrates. For context, that’s 10 times the state limit of 7ppm and seven times the federal limit.
So yeah… this is way way above what’s considered safe.
Experts say Amazon’s data centers are basically supercharging the problem. Because when they use that already-contaminated water to cool servers, the water evaporates — but the nitrates don’t. So the wastewater they put back can end up even more concentrated.
And get this: Some samples hit 56 ppm, which is still wildly above safety limits.
Amazon’s response?
They say the reporting is “misleading,” that their water use is tiny compared to the entire system, and that the nitrate issue existed long before they arrived.
And sure — the groundwater problems weren’t new. But if that’s true, and they knew water safety was already a crisis…why build a water-hungry facility in a place already struggling to keep people safe?
And more importantly: Why not take extra precautions when people rely on that aquifer to drink, cook, and… literally live?
Meanwhile, about 40% of residents there live below the poverty line — which means less political power, fewer resources, and fewer options.
That’s why advocates are calling the whole situation “Flint 2.0 vibes” where the people hurt the most are the ones least equipped to fight back.
The Big Picture
This is the messy side of tech infrastructure nobody really talks about.
Data centers don’t just beam Netflix to your homes or power your favorite AI tools — they drink ungodly amounts of water to stay cool.
And when you drop them into rural, low-income communities with fragile groundwater systems… well, you get what we’re seeing in Oregon.
If you drink water, use the internet, rely on AI, or just care about communities getting steamrolled by big systems — this story matters. And honestly? More people should know about it.
Here’s the full detail on this exposé.
