Beckers Lake

Beckers Lake earns an F: 138 µg/L of phosphorus and clarity at 1.5 ft signal heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The hypereutrophic status — TSI 73 — reflects sustained heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed and frequent algal pressure. At 53 ft of maximum depth, Beckers Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. The lake is compact at 35 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Beckers Lake ranks 1 of 2 in Calumet County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Beckers Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. Walleye are documented at Beckers Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Beckers Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.