Meta Stanton Springs (East Campus, Newton County) data center, Stanton Springs, Georgia

Meta runs a data center campus at Stanton Springs in Newton County, Georgia, near Mansfield, part of an industrial park where the company broke ground in 2018. Meta says the site represents more than $1.5 billion of investment and supports about 200 operating jobs. Four families from Mansfield sued Meta and county development officials in Gwinnett County court at the end of August 2026, saying construction fouled their well water and cut their property values.

Newton County's Board of Commissioners extended an emergency moratorium on new data center permits by another 180 days at an April 2026 meeting, giving staff time to rewrite zoning rules for future projects. Beverly and Jeff Morris live about 1,000 feet from the data center, and their well pressure slowed to a trickle within a year after construction began in 2018; eventually nothing came from their bathroom and kitchen taps.

Jeff Morris traced the problem to sediment he believes came from the construction, and the couple has spent $5,000 on repairs since 2019 because they cannot afford the $25,000 a new well would cost. "It feels like we're fighting an unwinnable battle that we didn't sign up for," Beverly Morris said. "I'm scared to drink our own water." Chris Wilson, who lives three doors away, said his water is sometimes "so brown, you'd think it came from a creek."

Mike Hopkins of the Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority said Meta's facility uses about 10% of the county's daily water, while nine companies have applied to build data centers in the county, some seeking up to six million gallons a day, more than the county's total daily use. The lawsuit describes Meta's development as two campuses, a 416-acre west campus and a more than 566-acre east campus across the street from the plaintiffs, both drawing on the same aquifer.

Meta said its own study shows groundwater flows away from the families' properties and that water used during construction came from the local utility, not their wells. "While we are committed to being a good community partner, we will still defend ourselves from baseless lawsuits," the company said.

Newton County's moratorium on new data center permits runs through early October 2026, when commissioners are expected to take up rules that would require data centers to sit at least 1,000 feet from homes. The families' lawsuit, filed in Gwinnett County court, is moving forward; no trial date has been set.