Lower Prior Lake

Lower Prior Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

A TSI near 48 places Lower Prior Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. Lower Prior Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 60 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. At 956 acres, Lower Prior Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 14.7 miles of shoreline. Lower Prior Lake ranks 3 of 17 in Scott County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Zebra mussel presence at Lower Prior Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Lower Prior Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The lake has a partial ice record — 19 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 4. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.