Fountain Lake

Fountain Lake grades an F: water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI above 70 puts Fountain Lake in hypereutrophic territory: visible blooms are common, and clarity rarely climbs even in early summer. A maximum depth of just 10 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. At 435 acres, Fountain Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 5.4 miles of shoreline. Within the 64 graded lakes of Wright County, Fountain Lake sits at rank 53, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Fountain Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery is panfish-dominated — bluegill, crappie, and sunfish among the 5 species documented for the lake. A documented public access point at Fountain Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a partial ice record — 6 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 15. 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.