Google Announces Four New Partnerships to Help Water Stewardship and Sustainable Farming

In conjunction with World Water Day, Google has released its 2025 Water Stewardship Project Portfolio summary report highlighting four new partnerships focused on agricultural sustainability around the world. 

In 2021, Google’s water stewardship target is to replenish 120% of the freshwater volume consumed on average across its offices and data centres by 2030. By this year’s World Water Day, Google has supported 112 projects across 68 watersheds around the world, and estimates that these projects replenished approximately 4.5 billion gallons of water in 2024 alone. These projects are estimated to have the capacity to replenish more than 8 billion gallons of water annually, one fully implemented. 

Several of Google’s projects target the critical nexus of agriculture and water security, due to the fact that agriculture accounts for nearly 70% of all water used globally. Four partnerships launched this past year focused on water management within agricultural areas in watersheds that supply Google’s data centres and offices, where solutions are imperative. These are:

Supporting farmers in Chile’s Maipo Basin
Located in semi-arid central Chile, the Maipo River’s headwaters begin high in the Andes Mountains before passing through Santiago on the way to the Pacific Ocean. Agriculture is the primary use of water in the Maipo River basin, accounting for approximately 75% of the total demand, and farmers throughout the region have been affected by a multi-year drought. Through Google’s partnership with Agua Segura and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), Google is supporting the rehabilitation of a storage reservoir and lining of an irrigation canal — water infrastructure that is critical to the smallholder farmers who rely on the availability of the water for their livelihoods.

Demonstrating benefits of innovative irrigation in California’s dairy industry
California’s dairy industry is among the largest in the country, accounting for over 21% of the nation’s milk supply. The dairy industry’s impacts on water come primarily through traditional flood irrigation with nutrient-rich manure for cow forage crops. Through their partnership, Sustainable Conservation is demonstrating the benefits of a first-of-its-kind, manure drip irrigation system that delivers blended freshwater and nutrients to crop root zones. Dairies are able to use their manure’s nutrients to grow food for their cow herds, save water, and protect local groundwater that communities rely on for drinking.

Piloting irrigation efficiency for rice cultivation in Taiwan
Recent water scarcity challenges have meant that many Taiwanese farmers have been unable to plant their rice crops, affecting livelihoods and food security. In partnership with N-Drip, Google is supporting a pilot project in Changhua County, Taiwan to install precision gravity-powered drip irrigation on rice fields. The irrigation upgrades will replace traditional flood irrigation, helping to reduce agricultural water demand while also lowering labouring requirements for these farmers. This pilot will help validate the water savings potential of similar projects with the aim of finding ways to scale these solutions in the future.

Using AI to improve irrigation practices for potato farmers in France
The semi-arid climates of southern Europe require irrigation for agricultural production and are especially susceptible to the effects of climate change. Google’s partnership with xFarm Technologies is supporting the application of their AI-powered irrigation module on potato farms in the Seine River basin, enabling farmers to irrigate only when, where and how much they need to by combining crop needs with environmental data collected in the field. The result is water use efficiency, quality crops and resource savings for the farmers.

These projects show how technology and collaboration can address water scarcity. By supporting innovative irrigation solutions, Google is helping farmers worldwide build resilient and sustainable agricultural practices. More information about the 112 initiatives can be found in Google’s 2025 Water Stewardship Project Portfolio summary report.