Drought Restrictions Put Google Water Use Back in Spotlight at The Dalles City Council
By Tom Peterson
Widge Johnson speaks to councilors at The Dalles City Council meeting on Monday night about being asked to voluntarily reduce irrigation when Google is not being forced to make reductions at data centers in The Dalles.
The Dalles, Ore., Sept. 14, 2026 — Questions about how much of The Dalles' water is being consumed by Google — and whether the company could be required to cut its use during a drought or water emergency — surfaced Monday as residents have been asked by the city to voluntarily reduce or stop landscape and yard watering.
During public comment, Widge Johnson, a longtime resident, questioned why the city's Level 1 water restrictions focus on residents while Google's data centers remain outside those voluntary conservation measures.
"I've been struggling ever since Google came to town with the water situation," she told the City Council. "Google doesn't participate in this. This is a Level 1 restriction. So that means that it's just the residents. It has nothing to do with commercial or industry."
Johnson said she has spent years trying to obtain information about Google's water consumption and told councilors that the company's share of city water use has continued to increase.
"In 2021, Google's consumption of The Dalles water supply was 29%. In '24 it was 33%, in '25 it was nearly 40% of the city water," she said. She also said she expects additional increases as Google's data center operations expand.
Those percentages were presented by Johnson during public comment and were not independently verified during Monday's meeting.
Her larger question, however, was what happens if The Dalles' water situation becomes more serious.
"I would like to know if in that contract that The Dalles made with Google, is there anything in there that says if there's a drought or a water emergency, is there any way to change the contract we have even for a temporary period of time with them?" she asked.
Johnson said she has also requested a town hall where residents could ask questions about Google's water use but said she had been told by someone with the city that such a meeting was "probably not a good idea."
Mayor Rich Mays asked whether that response had come from a city employee.
"Yes," she replied, declining to identify the person.
Mays said he believed Google would not want residents to think the company was leaving the community "high and dry with water" and noted the company had invested about $28 million in local water infrastructure.
"I know, and we can talk money all day," Johnson responded. "I would like to know what's in the contract."
Mays said the contract question was a legal matter and told her the city would get her an answer.
"That'd be great," she said.
City hands lodging tax administration to state
The Dalles City Council discusses a decision to move administration of the transient lodging tax to the Oregon Department of Revenue.
In other business, the council unanimously approved an agreement with the Oregon Department of Revenue that will shift administration of The Dalles' transient lodging tax from the city to the state.
The agreement allows either the city or state to terminate the arrangement with 90 days' notice. Appeals involving the tax will also move out of the city's administrative process and into the state's system, with appeals handled through Oregon's tax court process, according to discussion at the meeting.
The change drew concern from at least one short-term rental operator over the transition.
Kevin Ryan told councilors that short-term rental owners received notice in August about an Oct. 1 transition date and said he had already encountered problems attempting to register with the state.
Ryan said he operates his rental through an LLC and ran into problems when the state's registration system requested an employer identification number.
"We spent about an hour on the phone," Ryan said. "I'm having a little trouble getting registered so that I can be in the system and proceed accordingly."
Ryan said the roughly monthlong transition period was short and warned other rental operators could encounter similar problems.
Councilors nevertheless unanimously authorized the city manager to execute the intergovernmental agreement with the Department of Revenue.
Spectrum gets another 10-year franchise
The council also approved a new 10-year, nonexclusive cable television franchise with Spectrum Pacific West LLC, continuing the company's authority to operate cable infrastructure within city rights of way.
The city's previous 10-year agreement dates to 2016 and was scheduled to expire Sept. 28.
City Attorney Jonathan Kara told councilors the city and Spectrum had spent roughly 18 months negotiating the replacement agreement.
Unlike some telecommunications franchise agreements that can return 7% of gross revenue to the city, federal law caps cable franchise fees at 5% of qualifying cable revenue generated within the city, Kara said.
That fee has generated roughly $100,000 to $120,000 annually for the city in recent years, according to Kara. He said annual receipts over the past four years had been approximately $104,000 to $110,000, averaging about $107,000.
The agreement does not require Spectrum to operate a full-service storefront in The Dalles. Kara said city officials raised that issue during negotiations, but Spectrum argued maintaining a physical store could ultimately increase costs for subscribers.
The agreement does preserve the city's ability to establish a public, educational and governmental access channel that could be used for City Council meetings, educational programming or other community content.
The council unanimously adopted Special Ordinance 26-616 approving the franchise.
Indigenous Peoples Day becomes paid city holiday
Councilors also unanimously approved Indigenous Peoples Day as an additional paid holiday for city employees after Councilor Bill Renard pulled the item from the consent agenda over questions about its financial impact.
Staff told councilors the additional holiday had been anticipated during preparation of the city budget because it was already included in a union contract and similar treatment was expected for other city employees.
Staff acknowledged the holiday does carry a financial impact but said it can be accommodated within the existing budget.
The council subsequently approved the additional holiday unanimously.
Council targets Portland Harbor waste issue
Wasco County Landfill is being considered as a disposal site for Portland Harbor Superfund material.
The council ended the meeting by setting its legislative priorities for the League of Oregon Cities, with infrastructure funding remaining at the top of the city's list.
But councilors made a significant change to staff's recommendations by adding concerns surrounding potential disposal of material from the Portland Harbor Superfund cleanup in Wasco County.
Councilor Ben Wring said the issue deserved attention from state lawmakers because of the potential implications for rural Oregon communities receiving waste generated elsewhere.
City Attorney Kara cautioned that the Superfund cleanup operates under federal law and the Oregon Legislature cannot simply override a federal Environmental Protection Agency disposal decision.
However, Kara said the city could seek state involvement to address impacts on communities that potentially host the material, including transportation, road safety, environmental concerns, landfill capacity and associated costs.
Kara also told the council the EPA had confirmed the Wasco County landfill was among potential disposal locations, but he said he was not aware that a final decision had been made.
The council ultimately voted to make the Portland Harbor issue one of its legislative priorities. If limited to five priorities, councilors agreed to replace staff's proposed land availability and land-use streamlining priority with the Portland Harbor issue.
The resulting priorities keep infrastructure funding first and the 2027 transportation package second, while elevating the Portland Harbor issue into the city's list alongside homelessness response and proposed changes to prevailing-wage requirements.
