Malmedal Lake

Malmedal Lake earns an F: 223 µg/L of phosphorus and clarity at 1.0 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 10 ft deep, Malmedal Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. At 199 acres, Malmedal Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.0 miles of shoreline. Malmedal Lake ranks 24 of 25 in Pope County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Malmedal Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Malmedal Lake, one of 9 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA 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.