Brandy Lake
Becker County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Brandy Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 41 ft max depth
- Limited data
Brandy Lake in Becker County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.7 µg/L.
Brandy Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Becker County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 41 feet. Phosphorus level is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 83 other monitored lakes in Becker County, Brandy Lake ranks #69 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2022-09-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Brandy Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Brandy Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Brandy Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft. Phosphorus 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.7 µg/L. TSI 51.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 25µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 51 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Brandy Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Brandy Lake typically sits around 64°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 73°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 75°F) and coldest in Sep (about 64°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (64°F) to its warmest (75°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 53 field readings (2010–2022) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Brandy Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~41 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Brandy Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
319 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,348 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
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Stays near Brandy Lake
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Fishing Brandy Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+7 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.3 µg/L/yr2 years
Nearby Lakes in Becker County
Frequently asked questions about Brandy Lake
Where is Brandy Lake?
- Brandy Lake is a lake in Becker County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Brandy Lake?
- Brandy Lake in Becker County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.7 µg/L.
Is Brandy Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Brandy Lake?
- Brandy Lake typically sits around 64°F at the surface in September, from 53 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2022). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Brandy Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Brandy Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 41 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
23 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA23 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder