Doug Sevey’s – A proposed Google data center in Palo, Iowa, has sparked an unusual public fight—led not by outsiders, but by Doug Sevey, CEO of another data center company, Enseva. In a viral clip from a June 1 city council meeting, Sevey accused Google of downplaying water
Doug Sevey didn’t sound like a typical critic when he stepped into public comment at a Palo. Iowa. city council meeting on June 1. In a viral clip that has spread far beyond his community. the president and CEO of Enseva said. “Everything Google is telling you is BS.” He followed it with a sharper warning: “They’re going to burn through the water. and when it’s done. it’s done. and they don’t care.”.
For a man who has built and run data centers, the emotion wasn’t performative—it was practical. Sevey said the industry needs to “done right,” using systems that don’t “guzzle water” and that maximize energy efficiency. He is not convinced Google’s proposed facility in Palo will meet that standard.
Sevey’s opposition is rooted in two linked concerns: water and oversight. The dispute, however, has grown beyond environmental impact into a question of who gets to apply the rules—and what happens when a project can move between jurisdictions.
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