Last in a series.

DES MOINES -- Like many around the Iowa Great Lakes region in Dickinson County, Mike May's livelihood depends on the water and the tourists who come to enjoy it.

May's 47-unit resort on the south shore of East Okoboji Lake has been in the family since 1950.

He takes preserving the lake to heart. When it came time to upgrade his parking lot, he spent close to $40,000 to install a special lot that would reduce water run-off to the nearby lake.

"We're very close to the water. It's very important to us, obviously, to keep this lake clean," May said.

Instead of being made of cement or asphalt, the parking lot has what are called "pervious pavers" and pea gravel specially installed to allow rainwater to soak in, retaining it on site, rather than routing it straight to the lake.

"You take a 5-gallon bucket of water, throw it on that, and it's gone instantly," May said.

For May it wasn't the cost that was the primary consideration.

May, a Republican state lawmaker from Spirit Lake, wanted to serve as an example for what can be done to improve and maintain water quality.

That's something Dickinson County has excelled at. The county's Soil and Water Conservation District won a national award for its urban conservation efforts.

The area's commitment to water quality has made it a trailblazer in incorporating low-impact development practices into city ordinances.

"People in the lakes area are very passionate about water quality, because they understand the uniqueness of our natural resources here," said Greg Drees, chairman of the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission. "Without our lakes, you know, we're just more small-town Iowa."

Drees is hoping the low-impact development practices there catch on statewide.

Spirit Lake City Administrator Mark Stevens said their city wants to set an example. As they rebuild the parking lot at their library, they're using "pervious" pavers and other methods to slow down and cool the water before it goes to the storm sewer.

They're also installing a rain garden in a city park to catch the water and clean it before it heads to East Okoboji Lake.

"We here in Spirit Lake wanted to play a much more active role in protecting the quality of water that flows into the lakes," Stevens said.

The city has two new ordinances mandating that developers use certain techniques to control storm water.

They city also is considering tightening its regulations on controlling sediment and erosion on construction sites that are vulnerable to rainwater runoff.

Stevens said they expected negative reaction to the ordinances, but he hasn't heard any yet.

He thinks part of that may be that residents understand the lakes are part of the city's economic livelihood.

"That's why people come here, so we understand the importance of maintaining water quality," Stevens said.

John Wills, a coordinator for Clean Water Alliance, said over the last two to three decades, water quality at the Iowa Great Lakes has steadily increased, gaining better clarity.

Wills attributed some of the improvement to the creation of a sanitary sewer district around the lake decades ago.

Agricultural runoff was reduced through a number of traditional conservation practices, and the alliance worked to create and restore wetlands.

"These wetlands are very efficient filters. They filter out the sediment. They filter out the nutrients, and that sort of thing, and allow the water, the clean water, to move to the lake," Wills said.

Rain gardens and low-impact development practices have helped as well, Wills said.

But the area still has the problem of Silver Lake, which is on the state's impaired waters list because of its "turbidity," or cloudiness.

"You can't stand to be around that lake, you know," said May, the resort owner. "It stinks."

He said they are now looking at the watershed and what they need to do to clean up the lake, such as ensuring urban neighbors are using low-impact development practices and not using fertilizer with phosphorous.

"That lake is worth saving. It is a beautiful lake, and at some point we're going to have it cleaned up, and it's going to be a real bright spot in Iowa," May said.

Charlotte Eby can be reached at 515-243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.