Water Authority Reevaluates Supplies Amid Data Center Demand

The Western Virginia Water Authority presented its supply reevaluation to Roanoke City Council on Monday, well ahead of schedule.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Data Centers

Water Authority Reevaluates Supplies Amid Data Center Demand

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The Western Virginia Water Authority began reevaluating its water supplies, presenting plans to Roanoke City Council on Monday. The effort is occurring well ahead of schedule as large industrial demand grows.

Why it matters

A 2 million gallon per day allocation to a planned Google data center in Botetourt County is adding pressure on regional supply planning. Council members asked whether the discussion was accelerated because of data centers.

The authority has an estimated capacity of 50 million gallons per day but currently uses in the low 20 million gallons per day, while its Google agreement allocates 2 million gallons per day for a planned Botetourt County data center. The final supply source has not yet been selected from the candidates under consideration.

The players

Western Virginia Water Authority

The regional water utility serving the Roanoke area, responsible for planning and supplying water to its service region.

Mike McEvoy

Executive director of the Western Virginia Water Authority who presented the supply reevaluation plans to council.

Google

The global technology company that has an agreement with the water authority for a planned data center in Botetourt County.

Terry McGuire

Roanoke Vice Mayor who said the authority must update capacity because of large industrial users.

The details

The authority's executive director Mike McEvoy presented the supply plans, which weigh the James River, Roanoke River, New River, multiple reservoirs and local quarries. The 2010 plan projected Smith Mountain Lake as the future regional source, which would require a 20-mile upstream pipeline. The first of Google's planned data centers is expected to be air-cooled.

2010: Current water supply plan projecting Smith Mountain Lake as future source.
Monday: Presentation of water supply reevaluation plans to Roanoke City Council.
Next 20 years: Scheduled duration of the water supply evaluation process.
2060: Target year council asked about for new supplies.

Roadmap

The reevaluation departs from the authority's 2010 plan, which named Smith Mountain Lake as the future regional source and would require a 20-mile upstream pipeline. Reopening the full set of candidate sources now signals that large data center demand has shifted the timeline the 2010 plan assumed.

Residents of the Roanoke region depend on the same utility that is weighing new sources for industrial customers, so the choice of supply affects local water service. Current usage in the low 20 million gallons per day sits well below the estimated 50 million gallon capacity, but the 2 million gallon Google allocation will draw on that margin.

The takeaway

Large industrial users can force a utility to revisit decades-old supply plans sooner than expected. Residents should watch for the final source selection, since it will determine how water costs and capacity are allocated across the region.