Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric Lake fails the cutoffs — a TSI of 64 and persistent algal pressure put it in the bottom tier. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Lake reaches 24 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 7,197 acres, Lake is one of the larger lakes in Columbia County, with partial shoreline records supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Lake ranks 8 of 10 in Columbia County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Lake, one of 7 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR 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.