Brown Marsh Lake
Lyon County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Brown Marsh Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 32 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Brown Marsh Lake in Lyon County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 98 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32.7 µg/L.
Brown Marsh Lake is a lake in Lyon County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2023-08-28. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Brown Marsh 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 Brown Marsh Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Brown Marsh Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 98 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 32.7 µg/L. TSI 68.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 98µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 32.7µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 68 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Brown Marsh Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~32 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Brown Marsh Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
49 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,519 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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Fishing Brown Marsh Lake
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Frequently asked questions about Brown Marsh Lake
Where is Brown Marsh Lake?
- Brown Marsh Lake is a lake in Lyon County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Brown Marsh Lake?
- Brown Marsh Lake in Lyon County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 98 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32.7 µg/L.
Is Brown Marsh Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Brown Marsh Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Brown Marsh Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Brown Marsh Lake?
- Public access to Brown Marsh Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA4 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
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