All of the businesses in Union County purchase their water from a PWS or obtain their water from a private supply not requiring a permit. There are no water use permits for industry in Union County. Currently there is one water use permit issued for power production in the county. But no water withdrawal was reported in 1990. Mining Water Use Mining in Union County consists of sand and gravel extraction.
Activity varies from year to year based upon construction needs.
One water permit was issued for mining in the county. The Iowa State-Wide Rural Well Water Survey, 1990. The UHL's test results for the county also show that in an average year 31.6 percent of wells tested for nitrates exceeded the recommended maximum. These test results are based on non-random samples. The University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory, Private Well Water Quality, 1990-1994.