Mud Lake

On the scoring rubric Mud Lake grades a D: clarity at 1.3 ft and 87 µg/L of phosphorus keep it in the lower bracket for Otter Tail County. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

The hypereutrophic status — TSI 71 — reflects sustained heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed and frequent algal pressure. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. The lake's surface area is not consistently recorded across state datasets — physical context remains partial. Within the 97 graded lakes of Otter Tail County, Mud Lake sits at rank 94, near the bottom of the county list.

Mud Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Mud Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. 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.