Lake Wingra

Lake Wingra earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

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. A maximum depth of just 14 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. Lake Wingra covers 336 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Lake Wingra ranks 4 of 21 in Dane County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Zebra mussel presence at Lake Wingra means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Lake Wingra, one of 5 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.