Cielo Haines City Data Center, Haines City, Florida

A data center that Cielo Digital Infrastructure wants to build on Marion Road in Haines City, Polk County, Florida, is on hold because the city does not have enough water to supply it. Cielo asked the city about utility service for a 300 megawatt campus on about 74 acres near Marion Road and State Road 544 East, which would need up to 150,000 gallons of water a day.

Deputy City Manager James Keene said Haines City can produce 10 million gallons of water a day and already uses just over 7 million, with about 8,000 more homes coming. The city has asked the Southwest Florida Water Management District since June 2022 to raise its permit to 16.42 million gallons a day; the water district disputed that the city's application includes Cielo's 150,000 gallons.

"Haines City and surrounding areas are already having a water problem by not having enough and stuff," said resident Jule Cortez, who asked, "if there's not enough water, why are you trying to make it worse?"

In nearby Lakeland, commissioners voted 4-3 in August 2026 for a one-year moratorium on new data centers after an uproar over a separate proposed data center called Project Swan.

The water district's board must first act on the city's permit request; Keene said Cielo is "still in their phase waiting on SWFWMD's Board of Directors' approval." If water is approved, the project would still need zoning and environmental review and would have to go before the Haines City Commission, which Keene said has not yet reviewed any data center proposal. City officials said residents will be notified if the project moves forward.