Brown drinking water in Morgan County? What’s real?

Some families in Morgan County say their well water has turned brown — and now the problem has caught the attention of Washington.

What’s Happening: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brought Morgan County’s water problem to a Capitol Hill hearing last week, holding up a jar of murky brown water she said came from a well in the county. She pointed to a massive data center complex near the Newton County line as the cause.

• Morgan County does not have a countywide water system. Residents outside of Madison rely on private wells.
• The Meta data center campus sits inside the Stanton Springs industrial park, near the Morgan-Newton county line.

Between the Lines: Morgan County Commission Chair Blake McCormack says the water complaints actually started years before the data center became the focus. He says the problems began when Rivian broke ground on its auto assembly plant about four years ago — and roughly 7 million cubic yards of dirt were moved on a groundwater recharge area. McCormack says the county never received complaints like these before that construction started.

Catch Up Quick: This is not a new problem for Morgan County residents. As far back as late 2022, neighbors near the Rivian site reported brown, muddy water coming through their pumps and staining their sinks — especially after heavy rain. At the time, county officials said those complaints appeared to be legitimate.

The Bigger Problem: Morgan County sits at the center of one of the fastest-growing industrial corridors in the South. Large-scale land development — including data centers and electric vehicle plants — requires massive earth-moving operations that can disrupt underground water systems.

When soil is heavily compacted or disturbed near a groundwater recharge zone, nearby wells can pull in sediment and contaminated runoff. Rural residents who depend on private wells have no backup option when that happens. The federal government has now pledged to look into the matter.