Middle Straits Lake
Oakland County, Michigan180 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Middle Straits Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 55 ft max depth
- Limited data
Middle Straits Lake in Oakland County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.3 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 55 ft. Surface area: 180.3 acres.
Middle Straits Lake is a 180-acre lake in Oakland County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 55 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 1 documented fish species including Yellow bullhead.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2021-09-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Middle Straits Lake covers about 180 acres in Oakland County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Middle Straits Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Middle Straits Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10.3 ft of visibility
- Deep water55 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Middle Straits Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Middle Straits 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 Middle Straits Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Middle Straits Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 10.3 ft. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Middle Straits Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
55 ft
Surface area
180 acres
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Middle Straits Lake
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Fish Species
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Fishing Middle Straits Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2016–2023).
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.08 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Middle Straits Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI040900050102-07 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Middle Straits Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Commerce Twp MS4-OaklandCommerce Township · 1.5 mi away · NPDES MI0059375Recent violation
- Wolverine Lake MS4-OaklandWolverine Lake · 3 mi away · NPDES MI0059702Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Oakland County
Frequently asked questions about Middle Straits Lake
Where is Middle Straits Lake?
- Middle Straits Lake is a lake in Oakland County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Middle Straits Lake?
- Middle Straits Lake in Oakland County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.3 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 55 ft. Surface area: 180.3 acres.
Is Middle Straits Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Middle Straits Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Middle Straits Lake?
- Middle Straits Lake has a maximum depth of 55 feet. The lake covers 180.3 acres.
What fish are in Middle Straits Lake?
- Fish species found in Middle Straits Lake include Yellow bullhead. Middle Straits Lake is located in Oakland County, Michigan.
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Where this data comes from
21 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS21 samples · 2016–2021
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.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)