Protect Our Aquifer

Protect Our Aquifer We are dedicated to protecting and conserving the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

08/21/2026

Memphis JUST MOVED one step closer to regulating data centers. 👏 This is a major win, but the work isn't finished!

On August 18th, two years after SpaceXAI announced it would headquarter in Memphis, the Memphis City Council met and voted to ADVANCE a data center moratorium proposal, potentially pausing data center rezoning applications, site plan approvals, building permits, and more for 12 months.

“Memphis has an extraordinary water resource. We need answers. But extraordinary resources require extraordinary stewardship.” - Sarah Houston, POA Executive Director

This is a major first step, showing that our local leaders WILL LISTEN to our voices if they're unified and loud enough. In the coming months, this proposal will go through additional readings and revisions before a final version is set and voted on.

Specifics on next steps aren't clear right now, but we're not waiting to begin making moves. Head over to our NOW page on our website (link below) to voice your support for this pause to City Council. ✍️

Communities across the country are passing data center moratoriums to draft real community protections and guidelines for water use, power sources, and job creation. It's time we do the same!!!

https://www.protectouraquifer.org/now

08/14/2026

If you live in Memphis, you're paying a higher rate for your water than heavy industry users, like TVA and SpaceXAI.

No, that's not a typo! MLGW charges residents a higher rate for water than heavy industry users who pump ~1,000,000 gallons of our clean drinking water per day. This is inequitable.

In 2027, MLGW is planning to raise water rates across the board WITHOUT adjusting the industrial discount.

When they meet about this in early September, we will be there to present our petition demanding: “No residential water rate increases unless the steep regressive discount for industrial water users is reformed into a fair, progressive structure.” 💧

Over 600 of you have signed. We need 400 more to hit our goal of 1000 before we walk into that MLGW meeting on September 16th.

Tap our link below to sign today! ✍️

https://ujoin.co/campaigns/4007/actions/public?action_id=5838

If you love drinking water, you'll love Happy Hour!🚰In one week, we'll be at 's Millington location, alongside City Ad...
08/12/2026

If you love drinking water, you'll love Happy Hour!🚰

In one week, we'll be at 's Millington location, alongside City Administrator Frankie Dakin, to share critical updates about our aquifer and connect with fellow water advocates! 🍻

Here's what you can look forward to:
💧 Get up to date on Aquifer news + how to take action
🤝 Connect with fellow water advocates
🎤 Learn from City Administrator Frankie Dakin.
🍴 Grab a FREE appetizer courtesy of POA

Details:
📆 8/19
🕓 4 to 7 PM
📍 Huey's Millington, 8570 US-51, Millington, TN 38053

Send this to a few friends who love our water (or love free Huey's) 😋 RSVP for free at the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1ChxctAofm/

08/05/2026

Learn how you can be an advocate for protecting your neighborhood's drinking water by becoming a this fall! 💪🚰

Aquifer advocacy can appear complex, but with the right training, it becomes a second language!

We've got your back. Our Water Warriors Training will walk you through the complex stuff, break down the issues we all care about, and build your water advocacy toolkit.

On August 18th, we'll begin accepting applications for our fall cohort. This includes 20 paid slots for frontline community members.

If you're seeing this post, it probably means you care about our drinking water. Help Memphis keep it clean! Tap the link below for more information, and check back on August 18th to submit your application 💧💙

https://www.protectouraquifer.org/programs

08/03/2026

Calling Millennials & Gen Z Leaders ages 22-40 in Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee & DC (DMV) 📢

Apply for the PAID Environmental Justice Griot Program on this year's theme "Building People Power in Response to Data Centers" by 11:59 ET 8/7/26.

Learn more + apply at bit.ly/ejgriotapplication.

🚨 Memphis deserves answers about how a fourth data center is being prioritized BEFORE completing Colossus 1's Recycled W...
08/03/2026

🚨 Memphis deserves answers about how a fourth data center is being prioritized BEFORE completing Colossus 1's Recycled Water Facility. 🚨

In case you missed it, news broke on July 31st that SpaceXAI is planning a fourth data center in the greater Memphis area, nicknamed "Minihard." No timeline for completion or details on how this will impact the Whitehaven neighborhood have been provided.

ENOUGH of these backroom discussions. 🗣️

Tomorrow (8/4), speak your mind at the Memphis City Council meeting by making a public comment and demanding action from SpaceXAI. Tap the link below for talking points!

Public Meeting details:
📆 Tuesday, 8/4
🕓 4 PM
📍 Council Chambers, Lobby Floor, City Hall: 125 North Main Street, Memphis, TN, 38103

Talking Points: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IF4Rv1c6D4WERpP4nuoIVe5tjXx6g11L/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103405344430346245082&rtpof=true&sd=true

07/29/2026

Good news: long-term protections for Shelby County's groundwater are moving at the speed of trust!

The Blue Print is POA's comprehensive plan for managing and protecting Shelby County's groundwater, and in April, we presented it to the Groundwater Board. Through this board, existing laws, and the Well Code, we already have the tools needed to build management programs.

These tools include well-field management zones, a public monitoring network, and transparent data reporting. We just need an official plan in place to make them a reality. In June, the Groundwater Board held a special meeting to discuss our plan and voted to form a special Groundwater Protection Committee to make it happen. POA got the invite.

But rather than speed ahead, we believe the first step is to rely on community input and demand transparent financials from our Groundwater Board.

We are still in the early phases, but we are making progress. This is why we NEED water warriors to continue making public comments at City Council and, especially at the next Groundwater Board meeting.

Join us on September 10th at 10 AM to voice your support for The Blue Print and to demand transparent financials from the Groundwater Board!

📍 Location: 1 Waterfowl Way, Memphis, Tennessee 38120

https://www.protectouraquifer.org/resources

07/24/2026

Our Happy Hours bring together Shelby County residents who love our drinking water! 🚰

We've partnered with 's Millington location for our next Water Wednesday Happy Hour, and we're thrilled that City Administrator Frankie Dakin will be joining as our guest speaker! 🍻 Whether you're a longtime supporter or just curious about how you can make a difference, we'd love to see you there.

Here's what you can look forward to:

💧 Meet fellow community members passionate about protecting our aquifer.
🎤 Learn from City Administrator Frankie Dakin.
🍴 Grab a FREE appetizer courtesy of POA
🍻 Enjoy delicious brews on draft

Let's raise a glass to the cleanest drinking water in the country, and to keeping it that way! RSVP for free.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1015538948106433

07/22/2026

To better advocate for drinking water protections, you need to know the difference between greywater and water reuse! ♻️💧

Here's a quick rundown 👇

Greywater
🔹 Water from showers, bathroom sinks, and washing machines
🔹 Used on-site with little to no treatment
🔹 Commonly reused to irrigate lawns, landscaping, or fruit trees
🔹 Doesn't include toilet waste and often excludes kitchen wastewater

Water Reuse / Recycled Water
🔹 Can include greywater, blackwater, or stormwater
🔹 Treated to meet strict safety and regulatory standards
🔹 Used for everything from irrigation and toilet flushing to industrial processes, such as cooling a data center's supercomputers
🔹 Helps reduce demand on valuable drinking water supplies

Water reuse is a proven solution that protects our aquifer while supporting responsible growth, and requiring companies to invest in water reuse infrastructure for their data centers isn't radical; it's responsible!

SpaceXAI's completion of the planned water recycling facility for Colossus 1 is critical because both the data center AND TVA's South Memphis Gas Plant will shift to using recycled water instead of relying on hundreds of millions of gallons of our precious drinking water every year.

What happens in Memphis over the next year won't just impact us; it will help shape our state's and nation's standards for how data centers responsibly manage water resources.

Tap our bio to send a one-click email to Mayor Harris and Mayor Young demanding SpaceXAI commit in writing to resuming construction on the Recycled Water Facility by Q1 of 2027!

https://www.protectouraquifer.org/now

07/17/2026

All this talk about data centers, and yet the best ones are always left out: Public Libraries! 📚

In Memphis, our public libraries () are free to join and boast over 1.1 million books. But they also offer free access to computers, online databases, decades of archival documents, and thousands of DVDs available to rent (yup, free)!

Our libraries are also third spaces that bring neighborhoods and the city together, curating over 3,400 programs and events across their branches for folks of all ages, and offering spaces for local businesses, organizations (like POA), and programs to use for in-person community.

Libraries are data centers built to serve communities. When new data centers come to Memphis, we should hold them to the same standard: serve the people, protect the resources.

If you don't have a free library card, what are you waiting for? Find your local branch today 🤭💙

https://www.memphislibrary.org/about/locations/

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