By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
John Rutledge
Q. Why does the water coming out of the faucets in my home smell like chlorine, and is LPA’s drinking water safe to drink?
A. All Iowa public water providers, including LPA, must follow rigorous testing protocols established by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These protocols require daily testing of chlorine, as well as periodic testing of other water quality characteristics. These regulations are in place to ensure public drinking water is safe for consumption.
LPA adds chlorine to the water in one location, which is the LPA water plant. Chlorine is added to ensure bacterial growth does not occur in our distribution system. DNR has established that a chlorine level below .3 milligrams per liter is insufficient to ensure sterile water to users, and a level above 4.0 milligrams per liter is excessive.
Our certified staff tests chlorine daily at multiple locations on both the east side and west side of the lake to confirm we are between the established range of .3 and 4.0 mg/l. LPA normally runs around 1.0 mg/l, plus or minus a small variation.
There is a small percentage of the population who are highly sensitive to chlorine. Some individuals have become accustomed to water that is processed through an in-home treatment system, which provides additional filtering of the water in that home. Some of these systems and filters are designed to strip chlorine levels down below what can safely be provided in a public water system. If users are highly sensitive to chlorine, they should consider consulting a vendor who provides systems that can further reduce chlorine levels below what a public water supply is legally allowed to provide in the State of Iowa.
Q. Why did my property taxes increase so substantially this fall, and does RIZ play a factor in this?
A. First, I think it is worth noting LPA has no role in property taxes. But we do understand them and are happy to help explain how they work. Iowa’s property tax system operates on an 18-month process, which is perpetually in motion from one year to the next. The property tax bills received for September 2024 and March 2025 are based on Jan. 1, 2023, property values.
As most property owners will recall, the July 1, 2023, revaluation represented one of the most substantial increases in memory, due to massive post-COVID inflation in the cost of both real estate and home construction. The September 2024 bill is the first time property owners will realize increased property tax expenses associated with the Jan. 1, 2023, revaluation.
Property owners who received massive assessment increases in 2023 are predictably seeing substantial increases in the actual property taxes they must pay. But it is worth noting the percentage increase in property tax dollars owed is less than the percentage increase related to property assessments. This absence of a proportional increase is due to protections in Iowa Law that ensures the annual increase in property taxes is limited.
I occasionally receive inquiries from Lake Panorama property owners about whether the Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone, known as RIZ, causes their property taxes to be higher. The complexity of RIZ and Iowa’s Tax Increment Financing Law (TIF) makes this a very difficult question to answer in a few sentences, but the short answer is “No, RIZ does not cause Lake Panorama property taxes to be higher.”
RIZ law is modeled after Iowa’s TIF law, which is a critical economic development tool. RIZ allows for a portion of the property taxes paid from Lake Panorama to be returned to Lake Panorama RIZ for water quality improvement. This includes dredging, sediment basin construction and maintenance, wetland development, streambank improvements, and cover crop incentives for producers and landowners in our watershed. As RIZ manages these duties successfully, it creates a win-win scenario for not only the lake, but also the local economies of surrounding towns and for Guthrie County as a whole.
Without the RIZ program, 100% of those water quality improvement expenses would fall onto the LPA. While LPA is in good health, it is not funded at a level that could absorb the responsibilities currently funded by the RIZ program. This would invite a return to the 1990s, when Lake Panorama property values were dropping due to lake siltation that substantially reduced water quality.
Although no one wants to pay more taxes, I think it’s important to remember that increasing property values is a critical achievement of successful communities. Economics 101 tells us prices go up when there is more demand than there is supply, and the community of Lake Panorama has a lot of demand and a limited supply.
Q. What is the best advice you can give members about staying up to date on current LPA topics?
A. Members all should be receiving and reading LPA’s weekly Panorama Prompt email, which is sent out each Thursday. This is the official means of communication from LPA to the membership. Please don’t believe everything you hear at the coffee shop or read on social media. As Yogi Berra once said, “Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.”
If you’re not receiving the Prompt, go to the LPA website at lakepanorama.org and click on the “Resident Sign-up” tab in the upper lefthand corner. Complete and submit the simple form. You will receive email confirmation when LPA staff has reviewed and approved your request. Once approved, you will begin to receive the weekly Panorama Prompt, plus have access to all documents and information available on the LPA website that are available only to LPA members.
If members have questions, they are welcome to contact the office. The LPA community has reached the point where we respectfully request that questions be submitted via email to lpa@lakepanorama.org. This allows us to assign specific topics to the member of our management team who specializes in that area. If members are not comfortable sending an email, or if the concern is urgent, we welcome a phone call to discuss or to schedule an appointment with a member of our team.