A development permit has been issued for a data centre on East Wellington Rd., with water limits forming a key part of the agreement. (Image Credit: dHKarchitects)

By Alex Rawnsley

covenant set

Water use limits set for planned Nanaimo data centre

Mar 11, 2026 | 9:23 AM

NANAIMO — A proposed data centre along East Wellington Rd. has passed its latest regulatory hurdle.

City of Nanaimo staff issued a development permit for the nearly 200,000-square-foot facility in late February, allowing the project at 2090 East Wellington Rd. to proceed to the building permit and other regulatory stages.

As part of the development permit being issued, covenants were placed on the property’s title pertaining to water usage, a peak point of concern among some area residents.

“The average flow of water delivered to the Land does not exceed 6.5 litres per second over any 60-second period, and the average flow of water delivered to the Land does not exceed 0.8 litres per second over any 12-month period,” the document reads.

A rent charge of $60,000 per year was also applied to the property through the covenant, however it remains suspended and not enforced by the City, provided water usage is kept within limits.

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Should water usage exceed what is outlined, owners of the property would have 14 days to pay the rent charge, while escalated court actions are also possible for extended violations.

Designs for the building state the air-to-water chilling system they are planning to use for cooling machines housed inside would use 0.71 litres per second on an average annual flow.

Over the course of a day, over 61,000 litres are expected to be used on average.

A map of the subject property, outlined in red. (Image Credit: Google Maps/NanaimoNewsNOW Illustration)

When discussing the project before Council in November 2025, City general manager of engineering and public works Bill Sims said the property would use between 55,000 and 70,000 litres daily, comparable to a mid-sized apartment complex.

“That would be roughly a 35-unit apartment building, a multi-family residential. It would be about the same as consumed by BC Ferries at Departure Bay. It would be similar to a car wash, that kind of order of magnitude.”

Development of the property is planned in phases, with 10 modular buildings to make up the final complex.

Front reception and office space for workers on site would be the first building constructed.

Future modules, built one or two at a time, would include data storage units and the required maintenance equipment, including HVAC and cooling.

Space for the buildings would be cleared on an as-needed basis, with the entire building construction expected to take several years.

A connector road is also planned, for either the eastern or western side of the property, to eventually link up with the Northfield Rd. and Nanaimo Parkway intersection near the old visitor information centre.

Due to the nature and timeline of this project, the development permit issued was not subject to a Council vote and was handled exclusively by City staff.

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