1
BUnnamed Lake
Sherburne County, Minnesota · 6.4 mi from Rush Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
- ++11.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (23 vs 115 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Rush Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Rush Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Unnamed Lake (Sherburne County, Grade B, 6.4 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
BLong Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota · 8.5 mi from Rush Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
- ++11 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (17 vs 115 µg/L)
3
BPickerel Lake
Sherburne County, Minnesota · 6.4 mi from Rush Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
- ++8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (24 vs 115 µg/L)
4
DFish Lake
Wright County, Minnesota · 8.6 mi from Rush Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (53 vs 115 µg/L)
5
DBriggs Lake
Sherburne County, Minnesota · 0.5 mi from Rush Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- +Lower phosphorus (70 vs 115 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.