1
BUnnamed Lake
Nicollet County, Minnesota · 2.6 mi from Emily Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
- ++3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (14.5 vs 63 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Emily Lake
3 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Emily Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 3 lakes hold a higher grade. Unnamed Lake (Nicollet County, Grade B, 2.6 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
DScotch Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota · 6 mi from Emily Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++2.1 ft water clarity
3
DOak Leaf Lake
Nicollet County, Minnesota · 4.8 mi from Emily Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (30 vs 63 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.