Google gives Vernon $4.5 million for water-line replacement

Google will contribute $4.5 million to the City of Vernon to replace an aging water pipeline, making Vernon the first Texas community to receive funding through the technology company’s new $10 million community water infrastructure commitment.

Google announced the investment Tuesday, Sept. 1, saying the project is intended to reduce water loss and strengthen the reliability of Vernon’s municipal water system as the company develops a major data center in Wilbarger County.

The contribution represents nearly half of the statewide water-infrastructure commitment Google announced earlier this year.

“Google’s investment in our infrastructure is more than an investment in our city — it is an investment in economic growth, future opportunities, and the quality of life for our residents,” Vernon Mayor Pam Gosline said in the announcement.

Gosline said the partnership will help Vernon attract businesses, support existing industry and strengthen the city’s infrastructure.

“Without Google’s support, this project would not have been possible,” Gosline said.

Google did not identify in its announcement the exact section of pipeline that will be replaced, its length or a construction timetable.

The investment comes as Vernon is already undertaking one of the largest water-infrastructure projects in the city’s recent history.

Vernon obtains its municipal water primarily from wells drawing from the Seymour Aquifer. The city operates well fields in northern Wilbarger County and west Vernon, with emergency wells at Orbison Park. Water is distributed through more than 90 miles of underground mains.

The contribution comes as water availability and infrastructure have become increasingly important issues in Wilbarger County because of drought conditions and the rapid development of large data-center projects southeast of Vernon.

Google announced in February that a new Google data center is under construction in Wilbarger County.

The company has said the Wilbarger County facility will use advanced air-cooling technology rather than relying on large quantities of water for cooling computer equipment. Google said water use at the campus will be limited primarily to critical domestic operations such as kitchens.

That distinction is important because cooling can account for much of a conventional data center’s direct water consumption.

Google said in June that it would use air cooling or recycled water when developing data centers in areas where water supplies are considered at risk. The company also committed to helping communities modernize water and wastewater infrastructure and to replenishing more water than its operations consume by 2030.

Ben Townsend, Google’s global head of infrastructure strategy and sustainability, said the Texas program was created to address local needs rather than applying the same approach in every community.

“When we launched our Texas community water infrastructure commitment earlier this year, our goal was to help strengthen vital water resources through solutions tailored to local watersheds and community needs,” Townsend said.

Vernon is the first community selected under that program.

Google has said its broader water strategy includes investments in public infrastructure in addition to efforts to reduce consumption at its own facilities. The company reported in June that it had committed more than $500 million nationally and internationally to water, wastewater and water-reuse infrastructure in communities where it operates or is developing data centers.

The company currently lists its Wilbarger County data center as “in development.” Google has not publicly announced an opening date for the facility.

The $4.5 million Vernon contribution is separate from construction spending on Google’s Wilbarger County data-center campus and does not represent a city agreement to provide additional water to the data center.

Instead, according to Google’s announcement, the money is intended to improve Vernon’s public water infrastructure by replacing aging pipeline and reducing water that otherwise could be lost through leaks.

For Vernon, that means infrastructure built decades before the arrival of the current data-center boom will receive a multimillion-dollar private investment as development southeast of the city continues to accelerate.