What is the cleanest lake near Schram Lake?

Kitchi Lake in Beltrami County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 5.2 miles from Schram Lake.

Why is Schram Lake not Grade A?

Schram Lake holds Grade C, with about 3.9 ft of water clarity and 21 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 Schram Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Schram Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Schram Lake

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

Schram Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Kitchi Lake (Beltrami County, Grade A, 5.2 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Kitchi Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 5.2 mi from Schram Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++6.6 ft water clarity

Upper Sucker Lake

Cass County, Minnesota · 5.5 mi from Schram Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++6.9 ft water clarity

Little Big Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 6.9 mi from Schram Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++5.4 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (13.5 vs 21 µg/L)

Bullhead Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 3.7 mi from Schram Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++3.6 ft water clarity

Silver Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 6.4 mi from Schram Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++8.8 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.