Google prepares to break ground on a three-building data center campus in Botetourt County while local authorities evaluate water usage amid ongoing drought conditions.
The Western Virginia Water Authority is reviewing its drought contingency plan as the Roanoke region experiences one of its driest periods in 133 years. Despite reservoir levels currently sitting 11 feet below normal, the authority reports it maintains over 500 days of water reserves, mitigating immediate concerns. The agency is now considering updates to its 20-year-old strategy to account for new, high-volume water users, specifically the upcoming Google data center project in Botetourt County’s Greenfield industrial park.
Google, which finalized a $14 million, 312-acre land acquisition in June 2025, plans to construct a campus featuring three data centers. Current projections estimate the facility will require two million gallons of water per day, with the potential to scale to eight million gallons daily. The Water Authority is exploring a new tiered rate structure to incentivize water efficiency for such high-volume consumers, with formal discussions on policy changes expected to commence next year.
A Goochland judge ordered the county to pare down 8,500 pages of filings regarding the controversial 4,400-acre technology overlay district along Route 288.
Texas-based Compass Datacenters halts search for two data center sites in Greensville County due to legislative uncertainty regarding Virginia's tax incentive policy.
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