Columbus Moves to Make Data Centers Pay Their Own Water Bill
Ordinance 2560-2026 would order Columbus Water and Power to design peak rates for large-load users, including data centers.
Columbus City Council is trying to make the biggest utility customers carry more of their own infrastructure cost before the next rate fight lands on household bills.
Ordinance 2560-2026, filed as Large Load/High-Volume Peak User Rates, would require the Director of Columbus Water and Power to establish peak rates or other fees for large industrial and manufacturing users. Legistar shows a first reading on September 14, 2026, and a September 28 agenda date. Sponsors Christopher Wyche and Council President Shannon Hardin have framed the ordinance as a study-and-design order, not an instant new tariff: department recommendations would be due by October 26, then still need Utility Advisory Board review and another council vote before anyone's bill changes.
ABC6 first reported how Hardin tied the proposal to suburban data-center deals that still draw on Columbus water plants while city residents absorbed an 18 percent water-rate jump at the start of 2026. The coverage also flagged tools the department could recommend, from rising block charges to capacity fees and infrastructure contribution charges. WOSU covered the September hearing package that pairs the rate work with conservation, decommissioning, and behind-the-meter generation rules without a temporary ban on new centers.
The ordinance aims at demand shape, not a single industry label. Data centers sit on the example list beside chip plants, breweries, and food processors. That matters for Downtown ratepayers and for suburbs that buy Columbus water while chasing their own tax abatements. A fourth water plant already carries a multi-billion-dollar price tag in city planning documents, which is why peak-demand charges are back on the dais after last year's utility reports on high-volume users.
None of this freezes construction. It changes who gets the first draft of the rate math. If Columbus Water and Power recommends capacity charges that stick, suburban campuses on city water could see different bills than a Short North cafe, which is the political point Hardin and Wyche keep returning to when residents ask why their quarterly statements climbed while warehouses rose outside the corporation line.
Residents should track three dates: the September 28 council action, the October 26 utility recommendations, and whatever tariff eventually clears the advisory board. For context on how infrastructure pressure shows up in daily life, use our where to live guide and the citywide map under Columbus.
