Bennett Lake

Bennett Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. At only 9 ft deep, Bennett Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Bennett Lake is small — 29 acres alongside 1.0 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Bennett Lake sits at rank 31 of 49 in Ramsey County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Bennett Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 8, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.