Lake Panorama Association (LPA) and Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone (RIZ) Project Manager Lane Rumelhart says that the biggest part of his job is trying to make sure that Lake Panorama is healthy.

Rumelhart explains that the way this is done is through different water quality projects, which he is in charge of setting up and overseeing. He shares that funding for these projects comes from RIZ, as they receive a portion of the taxes that Lake Panorama provides to Guthrie County. Rumelhart tells Raccoon Valley Radio why the funding for these projects is so important.

“We just try and continually grow that and set ourselves up for success by building everything we need for the future. I mean, RIZ is in a great place and we don’t foresee it going anywhere, but if RIZ were to ever dissolve or something change, you know, we try to do as much work on the front side as possible to set Lake Panorama up for success well into the future.”

Rumelhart mentions that they do have some new projects in the works, which includes finishing raising the dam for the 180th Trail Basin, where some of the dredged materials from the lake is stored. He adds that they are also looking at different locations to build wetlands in Lake Panorama’s watershed, focusing their search to the northwest of the lake.