It has now been three years since Google began using its own method for calculating the percentage of freshwater it withdraws in areas with low, medium, or high water stress levels. The company has decided to recalculate its figures using the industry standard, the World Resources Institute (WRI). Google claims its framework is more accurate, though it is said to favor the company's position. Google is one of the largest consumers of water in the data center industry, withdrawing more than 50 million cubic meters of water in 2025. This number refers only to direct withdrawals, not the water used for electricity production, which consumed 43.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025—almost as much as Portugal uses in a year. The WRI, a U.S.-based non-profit organization focused on environmental issues, publishes a map called the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, which shows global water stress levels. This map has been integrated into Google's global data center map. The data used in the current report are not from 2025, but reflect the average situation in 2019, as no update is currently available. The WRI is widely used in the industry to estimate the percentage of water withdrawn in areas with different levels of water stress. In reality, there are five levels: Low (less than 10%), Low-Medium (10–20%), Medium-High (20–40%), High (40–80%), and Extremely High (more than 80%). These are generally grouped into three: low (less than 20%), medium (20–40%), and high (more than 40%). Google used the WRI until 2023 (for the 2022 data), after which it switched to its own "risk assessment framework" (or Water Risk Framework). This framework applies only to its data centers; the WRI remains applicable for water withdrawals at Google offices. The company explains that it used tools like the WRI and acknowledges that they "are valuable for preliminary regional and basin-level assessments," but adds that they "are not intended to capture more granular details." Google also notes that "in some cases, the water supply for a site may be located in a different geographical basin than where the site is located," but does not specify where the water supplies for its data centers are located. Its protocol, according to the company, is "peer-reviewed," but it is not published in detail, making it difficult to verify or reproduce. If made accessible, it could have allowed for a better understanding of the approach, verification of the figures, and the ability of others to use the method. According to Google, 72% of its water withdrawals are in low-risk areas. The figures from the 2026 report (based on 2025 data) on freshwater withdrawals show the following distribution: Low risk: 72% (stable), Medium risk: 15% (+1 point), High risk: 13% (-1 point). Using the WRI, the calculations show significantly different results.