Big Lake
Otsego County, Michigan125 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from EGLE for this lake.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 80 ft max depth
- Public access
Big Lake in Otsego County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 80 ft. Surface area: 124.5 acres.
Water clarity at Big Lake
Clear water. Across summers from 2018 to 2023, Big Lake averaged 3.75 m (12 ft) of visibility down into the water, so you can typically see several feet down in midsummer. This lake sits close to the line between clarity classes, so treat the label as approximate and the depth reading as the real number.
Nobody has taken a water sample here that we can find. Michigan's environmental agency measures clarity on lakes like this one from satellite images instead, which is why this page reports how clear the water is and no phosphorus or algae readings.
Clear is not the same as clean. A lake can be easy to see through and still carry high nutrient levels, and a naturally tea-stained lake can be perfectly healthy. The nutrient and algae readings on other lakes come from phosphorus and chlorophyll-a measured in a laboratory, and clarity alone cannot stand in for them.
The same satellite images put summer algae here at roughly 3.38 micrograms per litre. Estimating algae from orbit is far less exact than measuring clarity, so that figure is worth knowing and is not part of any rating.
Big Lake is a 125-acre lake in Otsego County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 80 feet (16-foot average). Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Big Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Deep water80 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingNot rated
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Big Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Big Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Big Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. TSI undefined.
Ask about Big Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
80 ft
Average depth
16 ft
Surface area
125 acres
Shoreline
0.9 mi
Public access
Yes
Listed by EGLE
Recreation & Access
- Big LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Big Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Big Lake in Otsego County, Michigan — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
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Fishing Big Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Big Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI040700040301-02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Otsego County
Frequently asked questions about Big Lake
Where is Big Lake?
- Big Lake is a lake in Otsego County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Big Lake?
- Big Lake in Otsego County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 80 ft. Surface area: 124.5 acres.
Is Big Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Big Lake?
- Big Lake has a maximum depth of 80 feet and an average depth of 16 feet. The lake covers 124.5 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Big Lake?
- Big Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Big Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Big Lake?
- Big Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Michigan's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Big Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
Measurements for Big Lake come from the EPA Water Quality Portal. Per-sample source details are not recorded for this lake.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory