Documents Reveal Potential Water Use at Botetourt Data Center
Documents reveal that Google's new data center in Botetourt County, Virginia, could potentially request up to 8 million gallons of water per day. However, the Western Virginia Water Authority states it is currently unprepared to meet such a high demand, with infrastructure only able to provide 2 million gallons daily.
WDBJ7 continues to investigate Google's new data center plans in Botetourt County, Virginia, which have raised significant concerns regarding water usage. Under the current contract, Google is permitted to request up to 8 million gallons of water daily for its operations.
However, local officials from the Western Virginia Water Authority have indicated that the existing infrastructure is not ready to provide that much water. Public relations manager Laura Schirmer stated that if Google were to ask for 8 million gallons today, the authority would have to say no, as they are not prepared for that level of demand. She also clarified that any future infrastructure upgrades would depend on actual usage.
Currently, the Western Virginia Water Authority can only reliably provide 2 million gallons of water per day, a stark contrast to Google's potential maximum contractual demand.