Lake Assessment Program - Fish Lake, Wright County

Fish Lake is located in Wright County. It is a small lake of about 97 acres. Land use in the watershed is primarily characterized by agricultural uses (- 61 percent) and water and marsh (- 18 percent). This land use composition is fairly typical for lakes in this region of the state - North Central Hardwood Forests ecoregion. The lake and wetland areas in the watershed will serve to trap nutrients and sediments arising from the watershed. Fish Lake was sampled during the summer of 1992 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) staff and citizens from the Fish Lake Property Owners Association (Association), Water quality data collected during the study reveal a summer mean total phosphorus concentration of approximately 59 ug/L, mean chlorophyll! of 37 ug/L and Secchi transparency of 4.7 feet. Total phosphorus and chlorophyll! are higher than the range of values exhibited by representative minimally-impacted lakes in this ecoregion and Secchi transparency is lower. Total phosphorus, chlorophyll! and Secchi transparency help to characterize the trophic status of a lake. For Fish Lake, these measures indicate eutrophic conditions.