1
BKelly Lake
Rice County, Minnesota · 4.8 mi from Cedar Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- ++6.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (29 vs 83 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Cedar Lake
3 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Cedar Lake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 3 lakes hold a higher grade. Kelly Lake (Rice County, Grade B, 4.8 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
CDudley Lake
Rice County, Minnesota · 5.3 mi from Cedar Lake
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- ++7 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (47 vs 83 µg/L)
3
DMazaska Lake
Rice County, Minnesota · 5.5 mi from Cedar Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- +Lower phosphorus (49 vs 83 µg/L)
How this list is built
Every lake on LakeQuality has a calculated grade from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measured against Metropolitan Council thresholds. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by grade improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.