Shelby County Lake Quality
Iowa, 2 lakes, average grade D (Nutrient-rich)
Shelby County has 2 monitored lakes — a thin enough sample that one or two stressed lakes can move the county average noticeably. Use the per-lake pages below for what actually matters. Every one of those lakes carries an A–F grade, so the county-level summary covers the full set rather than a monitored subset. On average, Shelby County lakes grade D, with phosphorus loading and reduced clarity showing up across most of the dataset.
The county's lakes lean shallow, which makes the grades sensitive to wind, sediment-resuspension, and any nutrient inputs from the watershed. The cleanest lake on the books is Manteno Lake (D); the most-stressed is Prairie Rose Lake (F).
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Quick Answers for Shelby County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Manteno Lake — or check the official Iowa fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Shelby County
2 lakes2 graded lakes
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DManteno LakeShelby | D | 2.7 ft | 138.5 µg/L | 28.3 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 2 | FPrairie Rose LakeShelby | F | 1.6 ft | 159 µg/L | 73.6 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
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Other Counties in Iowa
See how Shelby County stacks up in the national county water-quality rankings, or browse the full directory of graded lakes across all United States (49 states), Canada (Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador), and 38 other country hubs..
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.