Data centers continue to be the focus of local government in many areas of the state.
Google wants to build a data center in eastern Iowa within the Palo city limits and some residents there thought it was because the tech giant didn’t want to pay for a water study for all of Linn County. But Google has now agreed to pay close to a quarter of a million dollars for a third-party water balance study for the entire region.
Linn County planning director Charlie Nichols says it will clarify what resources the area has and where it may need to gather more information. “The study would evaluate interconnected water resources, including the Cedar River, Cedar River alluvial aquifer, Devonian-Silurian aquifer, Jordan aquifer, and then would also evaluate conditions under average conditions, dry year conditions, and then severe or extended drought conditions as well.” Nichols says…