Linn County, Google set to approve new agreement on water balance study
Linn County is preparing to approve an agreement under which Google will fund up to $242,000 for an independent regional water balance study. The study will examine water resources, future demand and drought resilience as Google pursues a large data center project near Palo, while Palo officials prepare to review the project.
Linn County supervisors are preparing to authorize a memorandum of understanding with Google for a county-wide water balance study. Google will reimburse the county up to $242,000 for work by Black & Veatch, while the county will control the study’s scope, methodology and findings. Google and the public are to receive the completed results simultaneously, with completion expected by March 2027.
The study follows negotiations over Google’s proposed data center campus near Palo, which the company says could represent a $14 billion investment with as many as six buildings. The project would use evaporative cooling supplied by the Cedar River and its alluvium and would be powered primarily by the restarted Duane Arnold Energy Center under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Palo’s planning and zoning commission is scheduled to review the project in November, followed by expected City Council consideration in December. Google also has a separate data center under construction in Cedar Rapids, next to a QTS project.