Current data suggest water use of 1,167 million gallons per year. Livestock production has declined in the county over the past ten years. Some continued decline is anticipated over the next 20 years, resulting in less water consumption. Water use for irrigation, which was estimated to be 100 mgy in 1993, can be expected to fluctuate. Any change in industrial, mining, or power production uses could have a large impact on the county's consumption of water.
Wells supply water for many communities, farms and industries in north-central Iowa.
The water from these wells comes from deposits of unconsolidated materials and layered rocks with characteristics consistent enough to allow fairly reliable predictions of their water-yielding potential. The unconsolidated deposits of sediment near the land surface comprise the surficial aquifers. Beneath these deposits are layers of consolidated sedimentary rock called bedrock. Some of these rock layers are aquifers and others are confining beds that do not transmit water very well, although they may store large quantities of water. The rock units which do yield significant quantities of water to wells are the Cretaceous aquifer, the Mississippian aquifer, the Devonian aquifer, the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer and the Dresbach aquifer.