Bingham Lake

Bingham Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

At a TSI of 62, Bingham Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. At only 10 ft deep, Bingham Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Bingham Lake covers 270 acres alongside 3.2 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Bingham Lake ranks 1 of 6 in Cottonwood County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Bingham Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 8 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. 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.