Clear Water Article from Minnesota

["Shannon Briggs" <BRIGGSSL@michigan.gov>]

The article highlights the relationship between natural vegetation along
the shoreline, reduced turbidity, and property values.


Clear Lakes Equal Higher Property Values                               
                     

Lake water quality influences property values, study says Tom
Meersman,
Star Tribune

Published May 26, 2003

Minnesotans who  headed to their lake cabins for the holiday  weekend
may want to  see how far down they  can see into the water. A new
study
of lakes in north-central Minnesota shows just how much clear water
can
enhance  the value of  lakeshore  property. The study by researchers
at
Bemidji State University calculated how much property values would
rise
or fall on 37 lakes if water clarity improved or worsened.

Researchers examined 1,205 residential property sales from 1996 to
2001
on lakes in the upper Mississippi River watershed. The land values
were
compared to water quality data for those lakes. "We concluded that
water
clarity is very significantly related to the price per foot of
lakeshore," said Charlie Parson, a geography professor and co-author
of
the study. "We have enough lakes and enough parcels to establish that
this is a real relationship."

Water clarity, a measure of how deep you can see into a lake, can be
affected by pollution, erosion and other factors, including the
removal
of shore vegetation. Parson and Patrick Welle, a professor of
economics
and environmental studies, projected how property values could change
if
water clarity increases or decreases.

Leech Lake, for example, is clear to a depth of about 10 feet. The
study
said that if the water got clearer -- so that you could see down
another
3 feet -- a lake property's value would rise by $423 for each foot of
frontage. For a
 40-foot lakefront lot, that amounts to nearly a $17,000 gain in
value.
If the lake's clarity is reduced by more than 3 feet, the study said,
it
would cut values by $594 per frontage foot. Other lakes would see less
change in value. Ten Mile Lake in Cass County, which is clear to
nearly
22 feet, would see shore frontage rise an estimated $9 per foot if its
water became clearer. Land values would drop by about $11 per foot if
the lake lost more than 3 feet of clarity.

Researchers obtained a $100,000 grant from the Legislative Commission
on
Minnesota Resources to conduct the study. The work was done under the
direction of the Mississippi Headwaters Board, a land-use planning
group.

Jane Van Hunnik, executive director of the board, said the study could
help property owners and elected officials understand that long-term
economic value depends on wise decisions about land use.  Lakeshore
property is under tremendous development pressure, she said, and
builders and landowners change the landscape. "They need to follow
guidelines that are advantageous to good water quality and that
prevent
erosion and nutrient runoff," she said.

Parson said the worst practices include removing trees, native plants
and aquatic vegetation in front of the property, to the water and
fertilizing the heck out of it." He said that "the golf-course look"
might increase property value in the short term, but such changes by
too
many owners will eventually alter a lake's ecology and degrade its
water. Total property value around a lake could increase or decrease
by
millions of dollars, he said. What happens to water quality depends
partly on local  ordinances related to lakeshore development, he
added.

 Steve Mikkelson, spokesman for the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency,
said the issue of protecting lake water quality is a priority, and the
property value study has already generated public discussion. "This
may
provide some backbone for some of our educational efforts and what we
encourage people to do," he said. "It certainly has sparked a lot of
interest."

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