1
CMoore Lake
Anoka County, Minnesota · 1 mi from Sandy Lake
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- ++1.4 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (39 vs 76 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Sandy Lake
4 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Sandy Lake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Moore Lake (Anoka County, Grade C, 1 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
CSouth Long Lake
Ramsey County, Minnesota · 2.7 mi from Sandy Lake
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- ++1.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (45 vs 76 µg/L)
3
CSpring Lake
Ramsey County, Minnesota · 3.5 mi from Sandy Lake
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- ++1.1 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (58 vs 76 µg/L)
4
DSilver Lake
Ramsey County, Minnesota · 1.9 mi from Sandy Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- ++1.5 ft water clarity
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.