Public bodies are preparing Wednesday to front-load as much as $300 million to secure a potential Google data center in Botetourt County — with the expectation the tech giant will reimburse them. 

A draft agreement to fund a new water supply to Botetourt’s industrial park is “essential to the successful development of the Project,” which Roanoke leaders say could eventually require as much as 8 million gallons of water daily, initially drawn from Carvins Cove.

Google will pay for water hookups if it builds a data center, according to Garry Larrowe, Botetourt’s county administrator. For now, the county and Western Virginia Water Authority are poised to agree on a complex cost-sharing arrangement to bring water to the site.

A water authority board vote scheduled Wednesday is the first significant public action on the potential project since government officials announced on June 24 that Google had purchased 312 acres in Botetourt’s Greenfield industrial park.

Newly released records describe how county staff devoted near around-the-clock attention to cater to Google’s needs over a year and a half. Internally, officials used the codename “Project Raspberry” to discuss the development. Behind closed doors, they provided Google with designs for projected water and energy usage that have not been made public, according to documents released to The Roanoke Rambler under Freedom of Information Act requests.

“Botetourt County's elected and administrative leadership worked tirelessly to build a solution for Google,” John Hull, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, wrote to officials on June 24, the day of the announcement. “This involved zoning action, purchasing additional land, providing engineering technical assistance, coordination of technical assistance, and working tirelessly for 17-18 months at all hours of the day to be responsive to their new corporate citizen.”

The prospect of a major data center has prompted conflict among local government leaders. After learning of potential impacts on the Carvins Cove reservoir, Roanoke and Roanoke County in June asked Botetourt for a share of tax windfalls from any project. 

Botetourt says those concerns should now be satisfied with the commitment to create a new water supply — the details of which remain unclear. 

Mike McEvoy, the water authority’s executive director, has said more than a dozen options are in play — from raising the dam height at Carvins Cove to increase the reservoir's capacity, to building a new reservoir, to using wastewater to cool a data center.

A draft agreement between Botetourt and the water authority, dated Aug. 5, describes development of a new water supply source as “a lengthy and costly project.” It notes, “current uncertainties as to where the new water supply sources will be located, how the new water supply sources will be connected to the System, and when the new water supply sources must be available.” Botetourt would pay at least $100 million for a new water supply and up to $200 million if the project costs $300 million. The water authority would cover remaining costs, the draft contract says. The agreement describes nearly $10 million in incremental payments that Botetourt would pay into a “Water Supply Source Development Fund” when certain project benchmarks are met, and notes Botetourt or the authority may have to issue debt. 

As of Tuesday, the water authority had not released a version of the agreement the board is slated to vote on Wednesday. Roanoke and Roanoke County each have three representatives on the board; Botetourt and Franklin County each have one.

“Google has not agreed in writing to pay a share of the cost of a new water supply,” Larrowe said in an email Tuesday. “However, the Google site is within the area of the County that is required to connect to Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA) facilities for water and sewer, if WVWA can serve them.”

As such, any developer is required to “construct all necessary pumping stations, gravity sewer lines, water mains, accessory equipment and storage to connect” to the water authority “or pay their pro rata share of the costs,” according to Larrowe.

“This can include costs of developing new water supply required to serve that developer, or a pro rata share,” he said. Typically, a developer takes on this obligation in an infrastructure development agreement as a condition of approval of the development plans (for instance, the site plan or subdivision plat) by the County and WVWA. Because Google has not yet submitted development plans, there is no infrastructure development agreement yet.”

In late July, Larrowe and Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb bumped into each other at a jazz night at Six and Sky restaurant. Cobb introduced Larrowe and his wife to one of the performers, TFOX.

“BoCo is on the hook for a lot of cash to develop the plan for the next water supply,” Larrowe emailed Cobb the following morning, on July 24. “I made mention that this agreement had been drafted and adopted by BoCo, and you indicated that you were not aware and the City may have not been aware. However, the water authority board has known about this for some time.”

Fully built out, a Google data center campus could vaporize 8 million gallons of water daily to cool its computers, according to Roanoke leaders. That would make Google about 30 times the regional water authority’s current largest customer, the city’s Coca-Cola bottling plant.

A Google spokesperson has emphasized Botetourt’s June announcement was only about a land purchase “for a potential data center.”

But that has not stopped economic development officials from trumpeting the news.

"This announcement represents the first hyperscale data center investment along the I-81 corridor and in Western Virginia,” Hull, the Roanoke Regional Partnership leader, emailed officials. “The client evaluated many locations throughout Virginia, and this is the only location that provided the complete package."

Botetourt’s contract with Helio Capital LLC, which bought the land, states the company will invest at least $1 billion “in development of each Data Center on the Property,” and that each center will employ at least 50 full-time workers at a median salary of $86,000.

Hull noted he asked business leaders to help shape the public narrative around the potential project.

"I have also had the opportunity to brief select private sector leaders to socialize the

project in advance of opinion editorial pieces,” Hull wrote. “There is so much good news here that the private sector leadership of this entire region needs to celebrate."

Since the announcement, some residents have raised concerns about the potential environmental impact, particularly around water usage, of any massive data center complex.

“FYI,” McEvoy emailed Roanoke City Manager Valmarie Turner on Aug. 22, with a screenshot of a Roanoke Reddit post titled “Any Group Actively Protesting Data Center?” She forwarded it to Roanoke City Council members.

On July 30, a Roanoke County resident emailed Cobb requesting that the city host a town hall to convey information about the potential project and address any concerns.

Cobb forwarded the message to Turner: “Thoughts?” 

She replied, “I think this is an excellent idea. I do believe they want to have the contract approved at the next meeting.” 

But it took another month before the water authority was prepared to vote on the water supply contract. A public town hall about the potential project has yet to occur.