East Graham Lake

East Graham Lake grades an F: water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. East Graham Lake is a shallow lake at 8 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. East Graham Lake covers 511 acres alongside 6.8 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within the 6 graded lakes of Nobles County, East Graham Lake sits at rank 6, near the bottom of the county list.

East Graham Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2025, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Walleye are documented at East Graham Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. 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.