Black Hawk Lake

Black Hawk Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. Clarity is the limiting factor — phosphorus is reasonable but suspended particles or algal cells keep water transparency below Wisconsin norms.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. A maximum depth of 42 ft puts Black Hawk Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Black Hawk Lake covers 212 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Black Hawk Lake ranks 1 of 6 in Iowa County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Black Hawk Lake carries an invasive watermilfoil record — boat-launch decontamination and shoreline care matter more here than at uninfested lakes. Walleye are documented at Black Hawk Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. 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.