Google Data Center Faces Water Supply Bottleneck in Virginia

Google's planned data center in Botetourt County, Virginia has hit a water supply snag. The tech giant is contractually allowed to request up to 8 million gallons of water daily, but local officials at Western Virginia Water Authority are only willing to provide 2 million gallons until infrastructure upgrades can be made.

According to Laura Schirmer, Public Relations Program Manager for Western Virginia Water Authority, the current physical infrastructure cannot deliver more than 2 million gallons of water per day. Google is required to pay for any system upgrades needed to meet the data center's needs.

Any future expansions or upgrades will depend on actual usage and who uses them. If it's just Google, they'll pay for it in fees to the county. If other users connect to the system, the cost will be divided among them.

The Water Authority will meet with Google every six months to review and project the facility's water needs, and Google must give a 3-day notice if they expect to request more than their standard share of water.