1. There is hereby created within any county of the third classification with a township form of government and with more than seven thousand two hundred but fewer than seven thousand three hundred inhabitants, and within any county of the second classification with more than seventy-five thousand but fewer than one hundred thousand inhabitants, a county drinking water supply lake authority, which shall be a body corporate and politic and a political subdivision of this state.

2. The authority may exercise the powers provided to it under section 67.4520 over the reservoir area encompassing any drinking water supply lake of one thousand five hundred acres or more, as measured at its conservation storage level, and within the lake’s watershed.

3. It shall be the purpose of each authority to promote the general welfare and a safe drinking water supply through the construction, operation, and maintenance of a drinking water supply lake.

4. The income of the authority and all property at any time owned by the authority shall be exempt from all taxation or any assessments whatsoever to the state or of any political subdivision, municipality, or other governmental agency thereof.

5. No county in which an authority is organized shall be held liable in connection with the construction, operation, or maintenance of any project or program undertaken pursuant to sections 67.4500 to 67.4520, including any actions taken by the authority in connection with such project or program.