Each year, the Upper Big Blue NRD collects information relevant to water quality and quantity from district producers and other water users. Depending on the management zone of the district and its level of management, this information may include water usage, pounds of nitrogen fertilizer applied, and best management practices used. The information collected will not be used to regulate individual producers but when aggregated assists in forming regulation decisions by the board of directors that will impact portions or the entirety of the district. Once collected, this information becomes subject to open records request rules, as detailed in Nebraska Statute 84-712.01. That means that anyone can request information that has been submitted to the NRD and the NRD is required to provide it. While it is not required by law, the NRD will notify any individual if their information is requested by a person, company, or other agency. 

Additionally, the NRD uses submitted information to track trends across the district that provide insight into better natural resource management. This information allows the board of directors to make informed, data-driven decisions about projects and programs for the district. Occasionally this data is shared with other agencies that can provide more robust analysis. When producer-reported data is aggregated for analysis and key take-aways are communicated to the public, individual producer information will not be directly identifiable. Our goal is to provide useful information to all constituents while protecting the privacy of individuals submitting that information.