The tech giant’s bankrolling of the city’s legal fees continues to blur the line between public and private interests
Water world: Google data center in The Dalles. Photo: Jurgenhessphotography
By Chuck Thompson. January 3, 2023. In a time when newspapers often seem on the ropes—attacked by government officials, abandoned by readers—chalk up a big win for journalism.
And take a moment to thank The Oregonian and its dogged reporter Mike Rogoway.
Ending a 13-month legal battle with the newspaper, the City of The Dalles agreed to make records of Google’s water consumption at data centers in the city available to the public.
Some quick background:
In November 2021, The Dalles City Council voted unanimously to approve a $28.5 million deal with Google to provide water for the tech company to cool two new data centers there.
Google and The Dalles refused to disclose, however, just how much water the company’s three existing data centers use and how much more it wanted for the two new ones.
The Oregonian filed a public records request to get that information.
In response, the city sued the paper to prevent the information’s release, claiming Google’s use of water amounted to a “trade secret.”
In the settlement, announced by The Oregonian on Dec. 14, The Dalles agreed to provide public access to 10 years of data on Google’s water use and to honor future records requests.
The Dalles’ Mayor Richard Mays said Google ultimately changed its position and agreed to release the records.
“That’s why we backed off,” Mays told The Oregonian.
Turns out, a lot of water
Google may have had good reason to want to keep locals in the dark in the drought-stricken Dalles, where Tribes, farmers, ranchers, environmentalists and others are increasingly nervous about future water supplies.
According to records released in December, the company’s water usage in The Dalles more than tripled over a decade.
In 2010, Google used 104.3 million gallons in The Dalles.
In 2020, it used 355.1 million gallons, or 29% of the city’s total water consumption.
Google’s water consumption is only expected to climb. The company reportedly plans to construct two more data centers along the Columbia River.
“If the data center water use doubles or triples over the next decade, it’s going to have serious effects on fish and wildlife on source water streams, and it’s potentially going to have serious effects for other water users in the area of The Dalles,” John DeVoe, executive director of the nonprofit WaterWatch, told The Oregonian.
Google cuts the checks
According to The Dalles, Google will pay all of the city’s legal fees associated with the case, which have risen to more than $150,000.
Beyond water usage, Google footing the city’s legal bill is a concern.
“That arrangement raises questions about governments’ willingness to defer to large companies on matters of transparency, in addition to the underlying issue of how public utilities manage their water,” wrote The Oregonian.
“The private money funding public litigation distorts the entire public process and harms the public interest,” said Tim Gleason, former dean of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, now a professor emeritus at the university.
Gleason is right.
Google’s continuing influence over local affairs—and voracious consumption of a precious public resource—makes it all the more worth applauding The Oregonian’s refusal to back down from an intimidating legal challenge.
Chuck Thompson is editor of Columbia Insight.
The views expressed in this article belong solely to its author and do not reflect the opinions of anyone else associated with Columbia Insight.
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Between mega dairies, CAFOs and tech data centers, Oregon is on the road to becoming the next California…a state with little water left for plants and animals(this includes humans). The Legislature needs to update the archaic water laws soon. And the people in The Dalles better pay attention to local government leaders or it will be too late. Is this the next Morrow County?