1
BUnnamed Lake
Sherburne County, Minnesota · 7.3 mi from Julia Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- ++11.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (23 vs 80 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Julia Lake
4 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Julia Lake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Unnamed Lake (Sherburne County, Grade B, 7.3 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
BLong Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota · 9.7 mi from Julia Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- ++11 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (17 vs 80 µg/L)
3
BPickerel Lake
Sherburne County, Minnesota · 7.5 mi from Julia Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- ++8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (24 vs 80 µg/L)
4
DFish Lake
Wright County, Minnesota · 9.8 mi from Julia Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- ++1.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (53 vs 80 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.