City officials sued media to hide Google's water usage

In The Dalles , the county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, city officials sued a local newspaper. It all started when Google and the city had a contract to cover the cost of expanding the water source in exchange for a priority allocation of water capacity to the data center.

The Dalles sues to keep Google's water use a secret --oregonlive.com
https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2021/11/the-dalles-sues-to-keep-googles-water-use-a-secret.html

Google opened a data center in The Dalles in 2006. Google's data center is Oregon's first, and since 2006 Google has invested a total of $ 1.8 billion in The Dalles to hire more than 200 people, creating jobs and improving tax revenues in the city. Has contributed greatly to.

The Dalles, Oregon – Data Centers – Google
https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/locations/the-dalles/

Google has announced plans to build two new data centers in The Dalles. The plan was presented to Google by the city authorities: 'The property tax on the first data center will be 50% off, and the property tax on the second data center will be 40% off. Instead, each Google will pay 3 million dollars (about 340 million yen) in advance when the construction of the data center starts. ”The Dals City Council unanimously approved this incentive.

However, the 'conditions regarding water usage' that were signed as part of this tax reduction measure have attracted a great deal of attention. Since the data center uses a large amount of water for cooling, the contract says, 'We will preferentially allocate a certain amount of water capacity to Google. Instead, Google will give $ 28.5 million (about 3.25 million) for water source expansion work. The condition of 'paying 10,000 yen' is included, and although it is known that Google will use a large amount of water, the specific amount used was unclear.

City officials said, 'The total water capacity will increase from 10 million gallons (about 38 million liters) to 15 million gallons (about 57 million liters) a day due to the burden on the Google side, and Google will use only one increase. It is a club, 'he explained, but voices of anxiety spread in the city, which has been suffering from the drought that has continued for several years. Concerns over the long-term water supply have led to a growing movement to clarify conditions for water usage.

The Oregonian, a local newspaper with the highest regional subscription rate, responded to this voice. The Oregonian dissatisfied with the city's decision to refrain from publishing Google's water usage records and sent a letter to the Wasco County Attorney General, 'Please disclose Google's water usage for the public good.' ..

oregonian.appeal10.7.21 [1] --DocumentCloud
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21096548-oregonianappeal107211

In response to the letter, Wasco County Prosecutor Matthew Ellis found Google's water usage not covered by the city's nondisclosure agreement and ordered The Dalles City Authorities to disclose the record.

In response to this order, The Dalles city officials filed a proceeding against The Oregonian, claiming that 'under Oregon law, this information on water usage is a'trade secret'that is not covered by the information disclosure obligation.' Did.

Dalles suit --DocumentCloud
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21096544-dalles-suit

Dave Anderson, director of public works at The Dals, said, 'Whether water resources are abundant or diminished in the future, the amount of water available to residents will be greater if water resources are expanded at Google's expense. 'I think this deal is beneficial to both parties,' he explained.