Plan Rejected: Iowa Water Will Not Be Exported West

Pattison Sand Company of Clayton, Iowa is dropping its request for a permit to export millions of gallons of Iowa water to the west coast states of New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources declined the request

The DNR said it was denying the original application from Pattison, saying it "lacked the information required by state law". According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the company was attempting to obtain a permit to export our water to those aforementioned states to help relieve their drought-stricken conditions.

Millions of gallons of water were to be extracted from the Jordan Aquifer

It's no secret that here in Iowa, we have felt our own effects of drought this past year as well. Pattison's proposal involved drilling a new well near the Mississippi River and using it to extract the millions of gallons of Iowa water that would be sold to an Oregon-based company called Water Train. Wally Taylor of the Iowa Sierra Club spoke on the concerns that the Jordan Aquifer was not being recharged quickly enough and that siphoning from its already depleted flow would deprive Iowans and midwesterners of the drinking water they need.

Kyle Pattison assured this would not be the case

The permit was never outright denied, but the application was suspended due to a request for more information.

The owner of Pattison Sand stated in his original application to the DNR that the amount of water being exported from Iowa was not a concern in his plan, but is giving up the request and dropping his appeal altogether.