Google has published a set of water stewardship commitments covering how it manages water resources at its data centres. The Cupertino giant faces growing public scrutiny over the environmental impact of its AI infrastructure ambitions. The commitments include a goal to replenish more water than its data centres consume by 2030, investment in local water infrastructure, the use of alternative sources such as reclaimed wastewater and continued transparency around annual water usage. Google also announced $17 million in funding for conservation projects across seven US states, including wetland restoration in Georgia, agricultural water efficiency in Iowa and leak detection in Nebraska.
AI data centres require significant water for cooling and a recent study found that the technology’s annual water consumption is comparable to global bottled water consumption. Against that backdrop, Google’s vice president of global infrastructure Bikash Koley acknowledged in the blog post that the company is “focused on protecting local water resources,” while also noting that US data centres collectively use less than 1% of the water Americans use on lawns annually.
Google says it already replenished more than 7 billion gallons in 2025 through 165 projects across 97 watersheds. Once current projects are fully operational, the figure is expected to exceed 19 billion gallons annually by 2030, enough to supply Los Angeles for more than 40 days. The company has also committed over $500 million toward water and wastewater infrastructure development in communities where it operates.
On the energy side, Koley noted that water cooling at data centres can cut energy consumption by approximately 10% compared to air cooling, framing responsible water use as a sustainability trade-off rather than a purely consumptive practice.
In India, Google has partnered with FluxGen to deploy an AI-powered Water Intelligence Suite in schools in Bengaluru, identifying inefficiencies and educating students on water management.