In 2021 The Dalles, Oregon (pop. ~15,000) sued The Oregonian/OregonLive to keep Google data center water use records secret after a district attorney ordered them released as public records. Google covered the city’s legal costs. The city settled in late 2022 and released the figures. 2021 use was 355 million gallons, about 29% of the town’s total water.
Oregon city drops fight to keep Google water use private
https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-oregon-the-dalles-climate-and-environment-f63f313b0ebde0d60aeb3dd58f51991c
The Dalles settles public records lawsuit over Google’s data centers
https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2022/12/the-dalles-settles-public-records-lawsuit-over-googles-data-centers-will-disclose-water-use.html
Google’s water use is soaring in The Dalles
https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2022/12/googles-water-use-is-soaring-in-the-dalles-records-show-with-two-more-data-centers-to-come.html