Gust Lake

Gust Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. A maximum depth of just 6 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. Gust Lake is small — 16 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Gust Lake ranks 133 of 140 in Oneida County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Gust Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2025, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. 2 fish species are documented at Gust Lake, a mixed warm-water community typical for Wisconsin lakes of this size. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.