Google transfers water storage system to The Dalles, Oregon

On October 22, 2025, a tech company and a small Oregon city marked the completion of a substantial water infrastructure investment that shifts control of a critical resource from private to public hands. The aquifer storage and recovery system now provides The Dalles with additional capacity to address seasonal water scarcity.

Ben Townsend, Head of Infrastructure Strategy & Sustainability at the company, announced the completion in an official statement. "Today with the City of The Dalles, Oregon, we're celebrating the completion of a new aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) system — a new water infrastructure project set to increase the city's water capacity for decades," according to the announcement.

The ASR system captures water during Oregon's rainy season that would otherwise flow away as runoff. Stored underground in existing aquifers, this water becomes available during drier summer months. The infrastructure functions as what Townsend described as "a savings account" for municipal water supplies.

Permanent ownership of the system, including associated groundwater rights, now belongs to The Dalles. The transfer provides the community with access to over 100 million additional gallons annually, according to the announcement. This volume represents new capacity beyond what the company requires for its own operations.

Technical infrastructure details

The ASR design emerged from planning documents dating to April 2023. At that time, the company outlined plans for water and sewer infrastructure projects as part of redeveloping a former aluminum smelter site in The Dalles. These projects included wells, pipes, pumps, and tanks.

"One of these projects is an innovative Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) system, currently in the design phase, which will pump excess surface water into an existing aquifer for later use during drier months, functioning as an underground 'savings account,'" according to the 2023 water profile document.

The system treats surface water before injection into the aquifer. During months when municipal demand exceeds surface water availability, the stored water supplements the city's supply. This approach was expected to improve local water quality by reducing reliance on untreated groundwater, according to the planning documents.

Data center context and water consumption

The infrastructure investment connects directly to the company's data center operations in The Dalles. The first facility opened in 2006, establishing what became a multi-building campus supporting cloud computing, mapping services, and video streaming platforms.

Expansion plans included a third campus on the former Superfund site. The smelter redevelopment necessitated the broad infrastructure improvements that ultimately led to the ASR system construction.

Water cooling requirements drive consumption at these facilities. In 2021, operations in The Dalles consumed almost 275 million gallons of water, according to the 2023 data center water profile. The company noted this volume roughly equals annual consumption by three large Oregon cherry farms, and represents just over half the groundwater used by the former smelter during peak operations.

The cooling approach prioritizes water over air-based systems to reduce energy consumption. The company's second campus in The Dalles achieves 6% cooling overhead, compared to a 57% global industry average reported for large-scale data centers, according to the water profile document.

Groundwater rights transfer

Beyond the physical infrastructure, groundwater rights associated with the former smelter property moved permanently to municipal control. This transfer augments existing city water supplies drawn from local streams and the underlying aquifer.

"This will augment the City's existing water supplies from local streams and the underlying aquifer, making a previously private resource available for public benefit — be it a new business locating in The Dalles or residential growth," according to the 2023 planning document.

The transfer occurred at no cost to the city. The 100 million gallon annual allocation excludes water needed for the planned data center expansion, providing purely additive capacity for other municipal uses.

Watershed enhancement projects

Alongside the ASR system, funding supported three watershed health initiatives in the middle Columbia region. These projects address forest restoration, irrigation efficiency, and stream flow enhancement.

The City of The Dalles received support for reforesting 150 acres within its municipal watershed damaged by a 2013 wildfire. The replanting aims to reduce runoff and erosion while improving surface water quality, according to the 2023 profile.

The East Fork Irrigation District converted six miles of open irrigation canal to pipeline infrastructure. This project prevents water loss from overflows and enhances stream habitat for threatened salmon populations, the document stated.

The Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District piloted an underground water storage system for Fifteen Mile Creek. The system increases stream flow and decreases water temperature, benefiting both fish populations and local agricultural operations, according to the planning materials.

Implications for tech infrastructure and communities

The completion of water infrastructure projects tied to data center expansion reflects patterns documented across the industry. Facilities supporting artificial intelligence development and cloud computing require substantial water resources for cooling operations, creating pressure on municipal systems.

Other major tech companies face scrutiny over water consumption in communities hosting data centers. Some projects have contributed to local water supply challenges, particularly in regions experiencing drought conditions or limited aquifer replenishment.

The Dalles arrangement differs through its transfer of infrastructure ownership and water rights to public control. Rather than retaining private access to the enhanced capacity, the company deeded both physical assets and legal rights to the municipality.

This model addresses concerns about corporate control of essential resources in communities where tech infrastructure concentrates. The permanent transfer ensures the additional 100 million gallons serves broader community needs rather than exclusively supporting private operations.

For municipalities evaluating data center development proposals, the Oregon project illustrates one approach to infrastructure investment. Companies building facilities in water-stressed regions face increasing pressure to demonstrate benefit beyond tax revenue and employment.

The marketing community's dependence on data center infrastructure for advertising technology, campaign management platforms, and analytics tools creates indirect connections to these resource consumption patterns. As companies announce massive infrastructure investments to support AI development, the cumulative water demands affect municipal planning in host communities.

The Dalles operates data centers that deliver services including cloud storage, email platforms, mapping applications, video streaming, and search functionality to users globally. These operations required the physical infrastructure completed in October 2025, which now serves both private operations and public benefit through the ownership transfer arrangement.

The aquifer storage system adds drought resilience to a community whose water supply depends on rainfall-fed reservoirs. Unlike electricity infrastructure, which municipalities can expand through various generation sources, water availability in The Dalles depends entirely on precipitation in the surrounding watershed.

The ASR technology captures seasonal surplus that would otherwise be lost, storing it for periods of peak demand. This approach maximizes utilization of available water resources without increasing extraction from streams or aquifers beyond natural replenishment rates.

Implementation required coordination between private investment, municipal planning, and regulatory approval through Oregon's water rights system. The multi-year timeline from initial 2023 planning documents to 2025 completion reflects the complexity of developing new water infrastructure in regulated western watersheds.

The October 22, 2025 announcement marked the culmination of infrastructure work that began with the former smelter site acquisition and continued through design, permitting, construction, and rights transfer processes. The completed system now operates under municipal ownership, providing the city with enhanced capacity to manage seasonal water supply variability.

Timeline

• 2006 - Data center operations begin in The Dalles, Oregon, establishing the company's first such facility
• 2013 - Wildfire burns 150 acres within The Dalles municipal watershed, later targeted for restoration
• 2019 - Expansion planning begins for third campus on former aluminum smelter site
• 2021 - Operations consume approximately 275 million gallons of water annually in The Dalles
• April 2023 - Company outlines ASR system plans in water profile document
• December 2024 - Other tech companies begin construction on gigawatt-scale data center facilities
• July 2025 - Industry scrutiny intensifies over data center water consumption impacts on local communities
• September 2025 - Tech companies face community opposition to data center proposals in multiple locations
• October 22, 2025 - Completion of ASR system announced; ownership and groundwater rights permanently transfer to The Dalles

Summary

Who: The project involved a technology company operating data centers in The Dalles, the City of The Dalles municipal government, and Ben Townsend, Head of Infrastructure Strategy & Sustainability, who announced the completion. Associated watershed projects engaged the City of The Dalles watershed management, East Fork Irrigation District, and Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District.

What: An aquifer storage and recovery system that captures excess surface water during rainy seasons and stores it underground for use during drier months. The infrastructure includes wells, pipes, pumps, and tanks built as part of former smelter site redevelopment. The company permanently transferred ownership of the ASR system and associated groundwater rights to the city, providing access to over 100 million additional gallons annually beyond amounts needed for private operations. Three watershed enhancement projects received funding for forest restoration, irrigation modernization, and stream flow improvements.

When: The completion was announced on October 22, 2025, marking the culmination of planning that began in 2023 when the ASR system was described as in the design phase. The infrastructure development connected to broader data center operations that started in The Dalles in 2006, with the third campus planning occurring as part of a former aluminum smelter redevelopment beginning around 2019.

Where: The Dalles, Oregon, a community in the middle Columbia watershed where the company operates multiple data center campuses. The ASR system serves the city's municipal water supply, which draws from local streams and underlying aquifers. Associated watershed projects span the City of The Dalles municipal watershed, East Fork Irrigation District service area, and Fifteen Mile Creek managed by Wasco County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Why: Data centers require substantial water for cooling operations—approximately 275 million gallons annually in The Dalles as of 2021. The ASR system addresses seasonal water scarcity by capturing rainy season runoff that would otherwise be lost, storing it for summer months when demand exceeds natural supply. The transfer of ownership and water rights to public control makes previously private resources available for municipal benefit including new business development and residential growth, while helping safeguard The Dalles against drought. Watershed projects enhance forest health, improve irrigation efficiency, and support threatened salmon populations while benefiting local agriculture.