Nagawicka Lake

Nagawicka Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Wisconsin lake of its size and depth. Secchi readings are the weakest of the three parameters, suggesting suspended sediment or algal biomass dominates the optical signal.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. The lake's 90 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Wisconsin — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. The lake's 981 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Nagawicka Lake sits at rank 27 of 45 in Waukesha County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Nagawicka Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR 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.