Nashville, Tenn. – September 05, 2026 -- AgriCapture has partnered with Google and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to replenish 5.4 billion gallons of water in Southeast Texas by converting 6,000 acres of rice farmland to water-saving irrigation systems.
Google finances irrigation overhaul across Trinity River Basin farmland
The program targets the Trinity River Basin, where roughly 140,000 rice acres are flood irrigated annually amid pressure from agricultural demand, urban growth and recurring drought. AgriCapture is working directly with Texas rice farmers to install irrigation infrastructure that replaces continuous flooding, measuring results through flow meters, field sensors and geospatial monitoring to quantify verified water savings against prior flood-irrigation baselines.
Rice crop's water footprint exceeds 170 gallons per pound
Rice supplies roughly one-fifth of global calorie consumption, more than any other single food crop, but carries a water footprint of over 170 gallons per pound of finished product. Google is providing upfront capital for the irrigation infrastructure plus performance-based payments to farmers tied to measured water savings, part of its broader effort to manage water resources in communities where it operates data centers.
"Google is financing system-level change," said Tyler Hull, CEO of AgriCapture. "Improved irrigation infrastructure paired with economic incentives to farmers supports the Texas rice industry while returning 5.4 billion gallons of water to the community watershed."
Google has committed over $500 million to water infrastructure globally
The Texas rice program extends AgriCapture's water stewardship and carbon portfolio, which spans six U.S. states and international projects in Brazil, Argentina, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines. Google now backs 165 water stewardship projects across 97 watersheds worldwide as part of its $500 million-plus commitment to water, wastewater and water reuse infrastructure. AgriCapture's carbon and water programs cover more than 400,000 acres across 10 countries, generating water savings and methane reductions for Fortune 500 clients in technology, food and beverage, and financial services.