CLMP+ Report on Pike Lake (St. Louis County)

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) conducts and supports lake monitoring activities to determine if water quality supports recreational uses (swimming, wading, boating, etc.) of lakes, and to measure and compare regional differences and trends in water quality with lakes from all over the state. MPCA staff, local partners (SWCDs, watershed districts, tribal entities, etc.), and citizens all play a role in sampling lake water quality. As part of the MPCA's Advanced Citizen Lake Monitoring Program (CLMP+), Brian Mirsch and Mark Rauschenfels measured water quality at Site 102 in Pike Lake from May-September in 2012 & 2013. Pike Lake is located in St. Louis County, approximately 10 miles northwest of Duluth, Minnesota. It is 482 acres in size, has a maximum depth of 18 meters (60 feet), and a mean depth of 8 meters (26 feet). CLMP+ volunteers measured water transparency, collected temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles weekly, and collected water chemistry samples monthly. This report provides a summary of the water quality data, and of other physical and ecological characteristics, of the lake (Figures 1 and 2).