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LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Upper Hay Lake

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

Upper Hay Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Lower Hay Lake (Crow Wing County, Grade A, 2.1 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

1
A

Lower Hay Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 2.1 mi from Upper Hay Lake
  • +Higher grade (B → A)
  • ++9 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (13 vs 20 µg/L)
2
A

Bertha Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 2.7 mi from Upper Hay Lake
  • +Higher grade (B → A)
  • ++7.2 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (13 vs 20 µg/L)
3
A

Clear Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 3.5 mi from Upper Hay Lake
  • +Higher grade (B → A)
  • ++8 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (7 vs 20 µg/L)
4
A

Ossawinnamakee Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 4 mi from Upper Hay Lake
  • +Higher grade (B → A)
  • ++10 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 20 µg/L)
5
A

Clamshell Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 4.1 mi from Upper Hay Lake
  • +Higher grade (B → A)
  • ++5.1 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.

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