Google's Visakhapatnam Data Center Sparks Water Fears

Groundwater in Arilova, on Visakhapatnam’s northern edge, has dropped about 115 feet since last summer. Residents say they already live with the problem, and now Google wants to build a 1-gigawatt data center nearby. Its first project in India carries a $15 billion price tag and includes plans for an international subsea cable gateway. Google intends to make this coastal city one of the country’s premier artificial intelligence hubs.

Who Is Affected

Palli Murli, an accountant in Arilova, doesn’t hide his frustration. “We are so fed up,” he said. “We need infrastructure, which will help us with water, not a data center, which will gulp whatever is left.” Government monitoring data shows groundwater levels have fallen sharply in several urban areas in recent years. Officials blame rapid development, with water extraction outpacing natural recharge. Residents already feel the shortage at the tap, and they fear the facility will make it worse.

The human cost goes beyond water bills. In Tarluvada, a village on the city’s outskirts, T. Aruna pointed from the roof of her two-story home toward a hillside where excavators now work from dawn until dusk. Villagers once gathered firewood and harvested cashews there. Google’s proposed campus now occupies that land. “I wish the data center had never come here,” she said. “We feel cheated and our land has been taken away.”

The Land Question

Residents say government surveyors arrived in early 2025 and told them they were updating land records. By August 2025, officials returned and said they had acquired the land. Farmer Venkata Surya Narayana remembers the moment clearly. “We didn’t even know what a data center was,” he said. “We protested, but officials threatened us with jail.” Officials say they acquired more than 300 acres, affecting hundreds of families. Some families lack formal land titles and may not qualify for compensation. In February 2026, villagers taking cattle to graze found security guards blocking their path.

V.S. Krishna, state general secretary of the Human Rights Forum, a civil liberties group in Andhra Pradesh, put the core complaint plainly. “The primary concern is the utter secrecy, the utter opacity in the manner in which these projects are unfolding,” he said. “The government has not put out any meaningful, systematic, or comprehensive information in the public domain.”

The Subsidy Trade-Off

Andhra Pradesh is reportedly offering Google a 25% discount on water costs and a 25% discount on land for 10 years, along with state tax waivers, reduced power rates and other incentives. The Wall Street Journal values the incentives at roughly $2.3 billion over 20 years. E.A.S. Sarma, a former federal secretary in India’s power ministry who lives in Visakhapatnam, asked the obvious question. “Where is that money coming from? Will it come from taxpayers?” His repeated communications to government offices went unanswered.

Sarma has also pointed to the regulatory vacuum. “The regulatory framework is fragmented, with many gaps. There are no clear rules governing environmental impacts.” He noted that communities in parts of the United States and Europe have increasingly opposed hyperscale data centers over electricity and water use. “So why is there such a rush to build them here?”

The approval process also involves Google’s partnership with the Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani. Opposition politicians and civil society groups have long alleged that the company benefits from Adani’s ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Adani Group has denied preferential treatment and says it follows applicable laws. Google has made similar statements.

Official Response

Google’s Alexander Smith, who leads technical infrastructure communications for the Asia-Pacific region, described the project as a long-term obligation. “Google’s AI Hub investment is a multi-decade commitment to Visakhapatnam and to India – and a commitment measured in decades carries an obligation to be a good neighbour,” he wrote. “That means the watershed, the grid and the communities around our facilities must be better off for our being here.” He said Google conducted independent environmental assessments covering water risk, ecology and more before approving the project.

Google announced a global water stewardship pledge in June 2026, promising to replenish more water than it consumes by 2030. In Visakhapatnam, the company says it will limit local water use through advanced air-cooling. But its commitments don’t include figures for expected facility consumption or water sources. Krishna was blunt. “If the government believes there is enough water for these data centers, it should put the figures in the public domain,” he said, calling the plan a “fantastic greenwash.”

Government officials say the campuses will eventually draw water from the Polavaram Irrigation Project, a scheme decades behind schedule and over budget. Environmental groups question whether it can spare water at all. State officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Why This Matters:

The Visakhapatnam project shows how the digital economy’s costs can fall on people who never signed up for them. Families in Arilova already watch groundwater disappear, while families in Tarluvada have lost land they used for firewood and cashew harvests, often without guarantees of compensation. When data centers draw on shared water and public subsidies, the public deserves clear figures on consumption, costs and who pays. Right now, residents say they have neither.

Democratic oversight, transparent environmental rules and binding protections for displaced families could help make this investment work for the city rather than against it. Without those protections, the promise of jobs and prosperity will be measured against a shrinking water table and a community that feels it was never consulted.