Fourteen Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota386 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Fourteen Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 15 ft max depth
- Limited data
Fourteen Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 14.5 ft. Surface area: 386.11 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 14, 2010 caught 0.33 walleye per gill net at Fourteen Lake. DNR survey details →
Fourteen Lake is a 386-acre lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 15 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 7 documented fish species including black crappie, bluegill, and hybrid sunfish. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-09-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Fourteen Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10 ft of visibility
- Fishing7 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Fourteen Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Fourteen 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 Fourteen Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Fourteen Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Fourteen Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Fourteen Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was high (139,316 cells/mL) on April 25, 2026.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 14, 2010 caught 0.33 walleye per gill net at Fourteen Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Fourteen Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
7 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2010-06-14 (Standard Survey).
7 surveys on file · most recent 2010-06-14 (Standard Survey)
16 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 23.67 | 2–9 in 2010-06-14 | 0.26 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 9.68 | 2–7 in 2010-06-14 | 0.15 lb |
| Northern Pike | 5.27 | 14–34 in 2010-06-14 | 2.33 lb |
| Brown Bullhead | 3.86 | 11 in 1998-06-22 | 1.38 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 3.35 | 5–9 in 2010-06-14 | 0.16 lb |
| Black Crappie | 2.85 | 4–12 in 2010-06-14 | 0.37 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Bluegill
Pumpkinseed
Northern Pike
Brown Bullhead
From the 2010-06-14 survey
Lake Fourteen is located in St. Louis County near the town of Buhl. The lake has a surface area of 376 acres and a maximum depth of 15 feet (100% littoral). Due to the shallow nature of the lake, aquatic vegetation growth is extensive. Surveys dating back to 1955 mention the abundant vegetation. Northern pike, black…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Fourteen Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — FourteenFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — FourteenFish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
14.5 ft
Surface area
386 acres
Shoreline
3.8 mi
Littoral zone
100%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Fourteen Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Fourteen Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN69-0793-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County
Frequently asked questions about Fourteen Lake
Where is Fourteen Lake?
- Fourteen Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Fourteen Lake?
- Fourteen Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 14.5 ft. Surface area: 386.11 acres.
Is Fourteen Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Fourteen Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Fourteen Lake?
- Fourteen Lake has a maximum depth of 14.5 feet. The lake covers 386.11 acres.
What fish are in Fourteen Lake?
- Fish species found in Fourteen Lake include black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow perch. Fourteen Lake is located in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Fourteen Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 14, 2010 caught 0.33 walleye per gill net at Fourteen Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Fourteen Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Does Fourteen Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Fourteen Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was high (139,316 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Can I fish at Fourteen Lake?
- Public access to Fourteen Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. 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.
Explore Fourteen Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
91 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA91 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder