Storm Lake’s long‑running water agreement with the Lake Creek Homeowners Association (HOA) is officially heading for its final chapter — and the city says the move will save more than a million dollars.
On Monday night, the Storm Lake City Council unanimously approved a resolution accepting Lake Creek’s notice that it will not renew its water contract and will instead transition to Iowa Lakes Regional Water by the end of 2027.
City Manager Keri Navratil opened the discussion with a detailed history of how the issue reached this point, noting that the city’s Water Ad Hoc Committee — formed more than a year ago — included Lake Creek among its extraterritorial users. She reminded council members that the committee’s work laid the groundwork for future water planning and rate changes.
Navratil said Lake Creek representatives raised concerns during last year’s public hearing on water rates, and later began exploring rural water options. Iowa Lakes Regional Water already serves the nearby Drey Addition, but needed city permission to evaluate service to Lake Creek because the neighborhood sits within Storm Lake’s two‑mile radius. That permission was granted earlier this summer.
The city’s current water service agreement with Lake Creek expires May 21, 2027, and normally would require the city to replace the water line serving the neighborhood as part of the upcoming Iowa Highway 7 reconstruction. The Iowa Department of Transportation estimates that relocation project at $1.5 million. With Lake Creek choosing rural water instead, the city will avoid that cost.
Lake Creek HOA representative Paul Havens addressed the council Monday night, emphasizing that the neighborhood will shoulder its own expenses to make the switch.
Havens also urged the council to waive certain capital improvement fees during the transition period, arguing that Lake Creek will not benefit from the city’s future water plant or new wells. But Navratil recommended keeping the existing rate structure in place, saying the ordinance requires consistency and transparency. She explained why the capital improvement charge was separated from the base rate.
Council members followed Navratil’s recommendation and approved only the extension of water service — not the fee waiver. The resolution allows Storm Lake to continue providing water to Lake Creek on a month‑to‑month basis until Dec. 31, 2027, or until rural water is fully connected, whichever comes first.
