Cheyenne BOPU Director: Water Shortages, Data Centers, Wildfires (Ep. 5)
The short version: Cheyenne's water utility chief lays out drought strategy and data-center demand in one candid interview — exactly the kind of local accountability we want more of.
Our Take
Credit to The 1890 Show for sitting down with Brad Brooks, the guy who actually runs Cheyenne's water system, instead of just quoting a press release. When the person managing drought mitigation and reservoir planning is willing to talk on camera about how data centers factor into that math, that's useful information ratepayers rarely get in one place.
Wyoming's High Plains water supply isn't infinite, and Cheyenne isn't alone in trying to figure out how a handful of hyperscale campuses stack up against household taps, agriculture, and wildfire risk in an increasingly dry West. The honest answer is usually 'it's complicated' — but complicated shouldn't mean invisible. Utility directors like Brooks are the ones who see the actual draw numbers before any deal gets announced, and residents deserve to see that math too, not just the ribbon-cutting.
If you're in Wyoming or anywhere else watching a data center get proposed near your water source, check our facility map to see what's already been built nearby, and use our take-action page to find out how to ask your own utility board the same questions Brooks is answering here.
This is GridWatch the USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The 1890 Show, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.