The industries employed an estimated 7,535 people. Most of the businesses in Des Moines County purchase their water from a PWS or obtain their water from a private supply not requiring a permit. There is one water use permits for industry in Des Moines County. Currently there is one water use permit issued for power production in the county, which withdraws about 3,460 million gallons per year. Mining Water Use Mining in Des Moines County consists of production by U. S. Gypsum Corporation and sand and gravel extraction.
Activity varies from year to year based upon construction needs.
Eight water permits were issued for mining in the county. The State-Wide Rural Well Water Survey completed in 1989 indicates the following quality results for private well water, shown in Table 3, for the east hydrogeologic region in which Des Moines County is located. The Iowa State-Wide Rural Well Water Survey, 1990. The UHL's test results for the county also show that in an average year 7.4 percent of wells tested for nitrates exceeded the recommended maximum. These test results are based on non-random samples.