Social Circle, Georgia, City Manager Eric Taylor shut off water service in March to a one-million-square-foot warehouse that the Department of Homeland Security had purchased to convert into a 10,000-person Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. The move put plans for the facility on hold in a town whose water system serves approximately 5,000 people.

"If you open up that water meter, it gives them full access to the entire supply of the whole city. I can't let that happen without knowing what the ultimate impact is going to be," Taylor said. ICE has said the proposed detention facility would require one million gallons of water per day, while the town already uses about 800,000 gallons per day during the summer and holds a permit to withdraw one million gallons per day from the Alcovy River.

Taylor told DHS officials he would not activate the water service until he understood the impact on the town's supply. He also raised concerns about sewage capacity, noting the town's sewage systems were established in 1962 and had been in need of replacement for 20 years. "Where's the sewage supposed to go? We don't have the capacity to support a million gallons of sewer coming off that site," he said.

ICE purchased the warehouse in February for nearly $130 million. DHS has since paused plans to purchase additional warehouses for immigration detention centers and canceled a scheduled meeting about the Social Circle site, citing a planned departmental review of processes under new leadership. A report published in December indicated the warehouse was one of 23 sites designated for such facilities.

Residents appealed to the federal government and their representatives, arguing Social Circle lacked the infrastructure to host the facility. John Miller, Gareth Fenley, and other residents held protests and meetings attended by hundreds of residents to oppose the project. Federal officials suggested drilling a well on the warehouse property or trucking in one million gallons of water per day, according to Miller. He said trucking in water would require six or seven trucks per hour operating 24 hours a day.

"It's the same story over and over. Communities weren't informed. They weren't consulted," Miller said. Miller, whose 50-acre horse farm sits across the road from the proposed site, also said drilling new wells could reduce the water available to his farm's animals.

"We're anxious to see what happens out of this review. They have already pulled the trigger on it. They have already bought the building, so there's going to be some effects no matter what's done or not done," he said. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia visited the facility, and a representative from his office participated in a briefing with ICE officials.