Meet Taylor Jorgensen - DNR Water Quality Environmental Specialist
Taylor is an Environmental Specialist within the Water Quality Bureau. She earned a BS in Environmental Science from Iowa State University. Taylor has worked for the State of Iowa for the past 2 years. Previously, she worked at Story County where she spent most of her time with the Grants to Counties Well Program.
The Water Use and Allocation Program issues permits (case-by-case) to grant water use (+25,000 gallons in a 24-hour period) for a variety of uses such as irrigation, public water supply, recreation, industrial/commercial, etc. Taylor assists permit holders with managing their permits, renews current permits, monitors and enters water use reports and fees, and overall ensures that permit holders are complying with code requirements.
Data Set, Graph, Learning Tools
The above charts demonstrate the relationship between different water use types and how the usage has changed from 2022 to 2023. Overall, the total usage in 2023 was lower than 2022 by roughly 5.6%. The biggest use types that decreased include industrial/commercial, power generation, quarry, recreational, and other (dewatering, etc).
The following reasons can account for the lower usage: multiple industrial facilities have closed and not being able to pull from the river for recreation (wetland habitats, etc). Precipitation has a large influence on water usage. For example, larger amounts of precipitation will decrease irrigation, but increase quarry usage. Less rainfall will increase irrigation, but decrease quarry usage. (Inverse relationship)
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For more information or questions, please contact [email protected]