The Memphis City Council has approved the sale of 13 acres at Plant Road to CTC Property LLC, an affiliate of xAI, for $820,000. This land will be used to develop a new water treatment facility, the "Colossus Water Recycle Plant," which aims to treat and repurpose wastewater currently flowing into the Mississippi River for industrial purposes, helping reduce pressure on the local aquifer, as reported by Commercial Appeal.
The facility is projected to cost $80 million and will process up to 10 million gallons of water daily. Mayor Paul Young stated, "We are taking land that we paid $200,000 for 65 acres, and for 13 acres we're going to get $820,000 and an $80-million facility," according to Local 10 Memphis. The plant is designed to support cooling operations at TVA, xAI, and Nucor Steel, reducing aquifer reliance by 9%.
Although the council voted unanimously in favor of the project, some community activists and environmental groups have raised concerns about its potential environmental impact. Specifically, they are worried about air quality due to plans to use gas turbines at the facility. KeShaun Pearson, president of Memphis Community Against Pollution, told FOX 13 Memphis, "You cannot say you are for clean energy and build dirty gas power plants in our backyard."
Brent Mayo, a representative for xAI, said the company has studied the environmental impact of the turbines and aims to be transparent. "The meeting's not about turbines. The meeting's about a greywater plant," Mayo said in a statement obtained by FOX 13 Memphis. Advocates for the project emphasize the benefits regarding water usage and reducing strain on the local aquifer. Sarah Houston from Protect Our Aquifer said, "We see this water facility as a step forward and a win."
