1
BLower Prior Lake
Scott County, Minnesota · 5.5 mi from Orchard Lake
- +Higher grade (C → B)
- ++4.7 ft water clarity
Cleaner Lakes Than Orchard Lake
1 higher-graded lake within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Orchard Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 1 lake holds a higher grade. Lower Prior Lake (Scott County, Grade B, 5.5 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
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.