Johnson Lake vs Little Kandiyohi Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Johnson Lake and Little Kandiyohi Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
Both Johnson Lake and Little Kandiyohi Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Johnson Lake (F) versus Little Kandiyohi Lake (F). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Johnson Lake
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility.
Little Kandiyohi Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Johnson Lake | Little Kandiyohi Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1.6 ft | 1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 96 µg/L | 391 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 18 ft | - |
| Surface Area | 2.7K acres | 1.2K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Johnson Lake: 1.6 ft, Little Kandiyohi Lake: 1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Johnson Lake matches its peer on species count.