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LakeQuality
F

Little Waverly Lake

Wright County, MinnesotaHypereutrophic

Little Waverly Lake earns an F: 611 µg/L of phosphorus and clarity at 1.2 ft signal heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Hypereutrophic conditions mean the lake is operating at the upper end of the productivity scale, with all the bloom risk that implies. At only 12 ft deep, Little Waverly Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Little Waverly Lake covers 338 acres alongside 3.8 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within the 64 graded lakes of Wright County, Little Waverly Lake sits at rank 58, near the bottom of the county list.

Little Waverly Lake is on the Minnesota infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. Walleye are documented at Little Waverly Lake, one of 16 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Little Waverly Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a partial ice record — 9 observed ice-outs, centered near Mar 30. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-09-15. Grade methodology: LakeGrade methodology.

Swimming Safety

Avoid swimming, very poor water quality, potential algae toxins

Water Quality Grade: F, Very Poor

Very murky, less than 1.2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus level: 610.5 µg/L. Trophic State Index: 85.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)1.2 ftF
Phosphorus610.5 µg/LF
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No data
Trophic State Index (TSI)85Hypereutrophic

Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth12 ft
Average Depth6.7 ft
Surface Area338.01 acres
Shoreline Length3.8 mi
Littoral Zone100%
Public AccessYes

Fish Species

Click a species to see all Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes where it is found.

→ Best fishing times for Little Waverly Lake (14-day solunar calendar)

→ Is it safe to eat fish from Little Waverly Lake? (mercury & PFAS guide)

Little Waverly Lake fishing regulations (limits, seasons, special rules)

Invasive Species

Eurasian watermilfoilzebra mussel

Water Quality Trend: Declining

Based on 5 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).

MetricTrendChange/YearYears
Water Clarity Declining-0.243 m/yr5
Phosphorus Declining+66.1 µg/L/yr5

Ice Season

Historical ice data from Minnesota DNR (17 observations).

Typical Ice-Out
Mar 30
Typical Ice-In
Nov 28

Estimated open water season: 243 days

EarliestLatest
Ice-Out2016-03-13 (2016)2018-05-01 (2018)
Ice-In2014-11-10 (2014)2016-12-07 (2016)

Most recent ice-out: 2018-05-01

Location

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County Ranking

Ranked #58 of 64 lakes in Wright County

Nearby Lakes in Wright County

Hypereutrophic Lakes in Minnesota

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

8 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-09-03 (Targeted Survey).

Top Species by Catch Rate

SpeciesAvg CPUEAvg Weight
Largemouth Bass27.561.81 lb
Green Sunfish25.910.1 lb
Black Bullhead23.850.63 lb
GOS21.740.09 lb
Black Crappie16.920.27 lb
Yellow Perch15.340.12 lb

CPUE = catch per unit effort, averaged across surveys (excludes juvenile shoreline seining). Higher CPUE = more abundant in standardized sampling.

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.

Largemouth Bass

21 fish · 819 in · 2024-09-03
530trophy 208910111213141516171819

Green Sunfish

3 fish · 15 in · 2004-07-12
21012345

Black Bullhead

35 fish · 814 in · 2024-09-03
630891011121314

GOS

8 fish · 56 in · 2024-07-15
42056

From the 2024-09-03 survey

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Little Waverly Lake, was conducted on September 3 - September 9, 2024, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine,…

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Little Waverly Lake. 2 reports on file.

Data Sources

Water quality data from the EPA Water Quality Portal

Grading methodology based on Metropolitan Council standards

Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder

Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate

Most recent sample: 2024-09-15

Monitoring stations: 2