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LakeQuality

Green Lake

Grand Traverse County, Michigan1,996 acresView mapDirections

EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Green Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
12.8 ft
Typical for Michigan
Secchi · sampled 2019
Max depth
102 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
1,996 acres
Surface area
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • 102 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Green Lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.8 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 102 ft. Surface area: 1995.9 acres.

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Green Lake is a 1,996-acre lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 102 feet. The lake supports 11 documented fish species including Bluntnose minnow, Brook silverside, and Common shiner.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2019-09-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Green Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water12.8 ft of visibility
  • Fishing11 species recorded
  • Deep water102 ft surveyed max depth
  • Big water1,996 acres

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Green Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Green Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Green Lake

These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Green 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 12.8 ft. TSI 40.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)12.8ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo 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.40Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Green Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

102 ft

Surface area

1,996 acres

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Green Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Green Lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.

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Fish Species

Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.

Fishing Green Lake

EPA Impairment Status

Green Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

MercuryPCBs

Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI040601040302-03 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Grand Traverse County

Frequently asked questions about Green Lake

Where is Green Lake?

Green Lake is a lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Green Lake?

Green Lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.8 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 102 ft. Surface area: 1995.9 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Green Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Green Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Green Lake?

Green Lake has a maximum depth of 102 feet. The lake covers 1995.9 acres.

What fish are in Green Lake?

Fish species found in Green Lake include Bluntnose minnow, Brook silverside, Common shiner, Hornyhead chub, Johnny darter, Lake herring, Mimic shiner, Northern logperch, Rock bass, Spottail shiner, White sucker. Green Lake is located in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.

Fish on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2019. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.

Collected and reported by

  • North American Lake Management SocietyNALMS6 samples · 2019
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