ROANOKE, Va. – The Western Virginia Water Authority is hosting an open house on Tuesday, March 10, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Green Ridge Recreation Center in Roanoke, giving residents a closer look at the region’s water system and answering questions about the proposed Google data center in Botetourt County.
The event highlights the authority’s daily operations, long-term planning, and infrastructure projects. Attendees also have the chance to learn about careers with the Water Authority.
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“For the last several years, the Water Authority has been having open houses with kind of a career focus so people can come and learn about what we do and how we provide service to the residents and the businesses in the area and then get excited about working at the Water Authority and finding their career,” said Sarah Baumgardner, the authority’s Director of Public Relations.
Baumgardner said public interest in water supply and long-term planning has increased in recent years.
“So we have a lot more people now who are interested in their water supply, long range, what’s going to happen with water supply? Where’s their water come from? How do we treat water and wastewater? So this is an opportunity for the residents to come and learn about us and see what we do. We’re the invisible infrastructure in the valley. Most people just turn on their faucet. Or pour water down a drain. And they don’t think about what goes on before the faucet or after the drain. And so we’re here to help them learn,” Baumgardner said.
The Roanoke Valley relies on multiple water sources, including Carvins Cove, Spring Hollow Reservoir, Crystal Spring, Mew Spring, and Smith Mound Lake. Officials emphasized that long-range water planning continues, even without the proposed data center, to ensure the region has an adequate supply for decades to come.
“Long-range water supply planning is something that we do on a 40 to sometimes 60 year horizon. It takes a long time to identify a future water source, then go through all the permitting and the planning and the engineering, not only to build the water source,” Baumgardner said.
The Google data center, if built, would draw water for cooling and operations. Google is funding initial engineering studies to identify potential water sources, which Baumgardner said could benefit the valley.
“The fact that Google has announced that they have an interest in building a data center here that would use water and be a large water user, kind of is a benefit to the valley because Google is paying for the initial engineering studies,” she said.
The open house also focuses on everyday operations such as water treatment, pipe maintenance, and wastewater management. Staff will explain how the authority treats and recycles wastewater and answer questions about services like leak detection and electronic billing.
Baumgardner said the event is the first of several open houses planned this year. “We will be having other open houses, other chances for the community to be involved, and we always welcome questions and comments,” she said