What is the cleanest lake near Saint Johns Lake?

Henderson Lake in Kandiyohi County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 9 miles from Saint Johns Lake.

Why is Saint Johns Lake not Grade A?

Saint Johns Lake holds Grade F, with about 0.5 ft of water clarity and 188 µg/L of phosphorus. The grade reflects measured water quality against Metropolitan Council thresholds. Cleaner alternatives nearby score higher on clarity, phosphorus, or chlorophyll-a.

Are these recommendations based on real data?

Yes. Every grade is calculated from EPA Water Quality Portal samples for the lake. Recommendations are limited to lakes within 30 miles of Saint Johns Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Saint Johns Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Saint Johns Lake

5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.

Saint Johns Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Henderson Lake (Kandiyohi County, Grade A, 9 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Henderson Lake

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota · 9 mi from Saint Johns Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → A)
++13 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (9 vs 188 µg/L)

Florida Lake

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota · 8.1 mi from Saint Johns Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → B)
++12 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (20 vs 188 µg/L)

Eagle Lake

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota · 7.3 mi from Saint Johns Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++5.9 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (23 vs 188 µg/L)

East Solomon Lake

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota · 2.9 mi from Saint Johns Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)
++2.1 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (77 vs 188 µg/L)

Foot Lake

Kandiyohi County, Minnesota · 4.4 mi from Saint Johns Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)
++1.8 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (60 vs 188 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.