Brownie Lake

Brownie Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

A TSI above 70 puts Brownie Lake in hypereutrophic territory: visible blooms are common, and clarity rarely climbs even in early summer. A maximum depth of 47 ft puts Brownie Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake is compact at 10 acres, with 0.6 miles of shoreline and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Within Hennepin County's 95 graded lakes, Brownie Lake ranks 56 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Brownie Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. The fishery is panfish-dominated — bluegill, crappie, and sunfish among the 6 species documented for the lake. No formal public access is documented at Brownie Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a partial ice record — 6 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 4. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.