Manitou Lake
Shiawassee County, Michigan80 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Manitou Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Limited data
Manitou Lake in Shiawassee County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 29 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.6 µg/L. Surface area: 80 acres.
Manitou Lake is a 80-acre mesotrophic lake in Shiawassee County, Michigan. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Shiawassee County, Manitou Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2019-09-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Manitou Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Manitou Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Manitou Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft. Phosphorus 29 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.6 µg/L. TSI 51.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 29µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.6µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 51 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Manitou Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
80 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Manitou Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Manitou Lake
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Fishing Manitou Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2016–2019).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-5.1 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.6 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Manitou Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Manitou Dam (completed 1973), built primarily for recreation on the Tributary to Spring Brook; earth-type dam, 12 ft tall and 370 ft long.
- Surface area
- 80 ac
- Normal storage
- 300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 470 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Lake Manitou Residents Association
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MI00401 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.32 km)
Nearby Lakes in Shiawassee County
Frequently asked questions about Manitou Lake
Where is Manitou Lake?
- Manitou Lake is a lake in Shiawassee County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Manitou Lake?
- Manitou Lake in Shiawassee County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 29 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.6 µg/L. Surface area: 80 acres.
Is Manitou Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Manitou Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
100 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2019. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- Michigan EGLE - MiCorps
21MICH_MICORPS100 samples · 2016–2019
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.