Toowoomba Regional Council has unanimously backed a proposal to restrict new data centres from using the region's drinking-water supply. The move comes as council faces growing interest from developers seeking to establish large data-centre projects in the region.

Deputy Mayor Dr Rebecca Vonhoff proposed the policy after council received increasing enquiries from potential data-centre developers. According to the report, council has been receiving around two enquiries each week, prompting concerns about the potential impact of large-scale developments on local water resources.

The proposed restrictions are intended to establish clear policy before individual development applications are submitted. Council members have argued that public drinking water should primarily be protected for community needs rather than being used by industrial facilities that could potentially require significant quantities of water.

The issue has attracted strong public attention. A non-scientific online poll reported that 99 per cent of more than 14,000 respondents supported the council's position. Residents expressed concerns about protecting water availability and ensuring that major industrial developments do not place additional pressure on public infrastructure.

Data centres can require substantial resources to operate, particularly for cooling computer equipment. As the technology industry expands and demand for computing infrastructure increases, regional communities across Australia are increasingly considering how such developments could affect water, electricity, land and other infrastructure.

The Toowoomba proposal therefore has implications beyond a single development application. Council's decision could influence how future data-centre proposals are assessed in the region and whether developers are required to provide alternative sources of water.

Community concerns have also extended to broader questions surrounding the expansion of artificial intelligence and large-scale computing infrastructure. Some residents have raised concerns about surveillance and other social implications associated with data-centre development.

The council's unanimous backing represents a significant political position on the issue. However, the policy process and any future development applications will still need to go through the relevant planning and regulatory procedures.

For Toowoomba residents, the debate centres on how the region should balance potential economic investment and new infrastructure with protection of essential public resources.