Google Data Center’s expected water use made public

The Western Virginia Water Authority released records showing Google's planned data center in Botetourt County, Virginia will initially use 2 million gallons of water per day, eventually increasing to 8 million gallons per day. A judge ruled that a data center's water usage cannot be considered proprietary information and withheld from public records requests. Local residents expressed concerns about transparency and the impact on the region's water supply, while Google has said it will help pay for a new water source. The Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance believes the agreement was made prematurely and that the data center will accelerate the need for a new water source from the 2060s to the 2030s, a timeline they view as irresponsible.