Lake Assessment Program 1994 - Norway and Games Lakes, Kandiyohi County

Norway and Games Lakes are located in Kandiyohi County. They are in a chain of lakes beginning with Norway Lake and ending with Lake Andrew. Norway and Games Lakes have surface areas of 2,496 and 529 acres respectively. The total watershed is about 18,887 acres including both lakes. Land use in the watershed is characterized primarily by pasture (12 percent), water and marsh (15 percent), and cultivated (66 percent) uses. These percentages are typical for lake watersheds in this ecoregion of the state - North Central Hardwood Forests ecoregion, except for cultivated use which is higher than comparable watersheds. Norway and Games Lakes were sampled during the summer of 1994 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MF–CA) staff and citizens from the Norway Lake Association (Association). Water quality data collected during the study reveal summer-mean total phosphorus (TP) concentration of 48 and 34 )I&, mean chlorophyll a of 23 and 15 pglL and Secchi transparency of 3.6 and 4.4 feet for Norway and Games Lakes respectively. The phosphorus, and chlorophyll _a for Norway and Games Lakes are within the range of values exhibited by reference lakes in this ecoregion, while the Secchi value is lower than what would be exhibited by reference lakes in this ecoregion. Total phosphorus, chlorophyll a and Secchi transparency help to characterize the trophic status of a lake. These measures indicate eutrophic conditions for Norway and Games Lakes.