The Roanoke Valley moved a step closer toward landing a Google data center Wednesday, with a local board voting to support its water needs.
The eight board members of the Western Virginia Water Authority voted unanimously to pass two agreements that will move a potential Google data center in Botetourt County closer to reality.
One agreement pushes Botetourt County to develop an additional water supply source. In the other agreement, Google agrees to pay for water lines and other infrastructure to support a potential data center in the Greenfield industrial park.
That's the site where Google paid the county $14 million to purchase a 312-acre parcel, where local officials expect the data center to be built.
"We can support this project quite easily," said Michael McEvoy, executive director of the Western Virginia Water Authority. "We have plenty of capacity. They will be our largest single customer and location."
McEvoy said he hopes the project will spark interest from other corporations as well. But not everyone agreed. Roanoke resident Misty Dawn Vickers said she's concerned the project will benefit investors while harming locals who rely on the water authority for drinking water.
"I genuinely care about the long-term effects of data centers and their coming to our region and being concerned about the benefits they're bringing southwest Virginians instead of taking away our resources," Vickers said.
Google hasn't yet formally filed any applications to build a data center at the site.
