Barrows Lake

Barrows Lake earns a D — measurements through 2022 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. The lake's surface area is not consistently recorded across state datasets — physical context remains partial. Barrows Lake sits at rank 7 of 10 in Grant County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Barrows Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Barrows Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Barrows Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.