Benton Lake

Benton Lake grades an F: water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Hypereutrophic conditions mean the lake is operating at the upper end of the productivity scale, with all the bloom risk that implies. 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. Benton Lake sits at rank 30 of 40 in Carver County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Benton Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Benton Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Benton 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.