Gigawatt Ledger · one-page briefing
Campus profile Operating
The Dalles
Google · The Dalles, Oregon
The resource footprint
Modelled averageIn one day, this campus consumes about
5.450-metre swimming pools
Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.
The actual estimate3,569,450 US gallons consumed
Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.
At current operating capacity · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.
Comparison sizes & sources
One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.
One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.
One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.
Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.
Water: see the numbers and sources
This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.
- Pressure on local water
- Medium-High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
- Where the water comes from
- Municipal potable supply
- Cooling
- Evaporative towers on city water from the Columbia basin
- Basis
- Fitted to a published figure of 469 million gallons a year (2025)
- Operator table
- Withdrew 654 million gallons, discharged 185, consumed 469
- Claimed vs observed
- Google 2026 Environmental Report (FY2025): withdrew 654.3 million gallons, discharged 185.3, consumed 469.0. The Oregonian’s earlier court-released figure was about 355 million.
Air: see the numbers and sources
The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.
- Health range
- $2.51–7.36 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
- Statistical deaths
- 0.61 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
- Equals
- 106,237 cars of NOx
- Where it burns
- WECC Northwest — Ore. / Wash.
- Generation mix
- Hydro 48 · Gas 22 · Wind 15 · Nuclear 6
- Diesel backup
- Diesel backup is not yet counted for this campus, so on-site air figures are a floor.
- CO₂e
- 159 kt/yr — climate, not air quality
The project, approvals and community concerns
- Who asked for it
- Google — self-build
- Who approved it
- City of The Dalles enterprise-zone agreements; water supplied under a city contract that was kept confidential until a court ordered its release
- What it serves
- Google Search, Cloud, and long-term storage
- IT capacity
- 180 MW current capacity / 260 MW full-build scenario
The Oregonian sued the City of The Dalles for the water figures and won: an earlier release showed about 355 million gallons a year. Google's 2025 table is 469 million consumed — still the clearest case of a municipality litigating on a data center's behalf to keep usage secret.
Keep this guide handy
45.6318°, -121.1786°
Quote or share these estimates
Gigawatt Ledger (2026). The Dalles: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/thedalles/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.
Include the estimate’s date, whether it describes current or proposed capacity, and its uncertainty. Get an embeddable card.
Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.