1
ASignalness Lake
Pope County, Minnesota · 7.7 mi from Emily Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → A)
- ++8.7 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (17 vs 90 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. Signalness Lake (Pope County, Grade A, 7.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
CNelson Lake
Pope County, Minnesota · 11.2 mi from Emily Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → C)
- ++4.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (23.5 vs 90 µg/L)
3
DHassel Lake
Swift County, Minnesota · 9.6 mi from Emily Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- +Lower phosphorus (47.5 vs 90 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.