Nelson Lake

Nelson Lake grades an F: every scored parameter (clarity) rates poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. 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. Nelson Lake ranks 9 of 10 in Goodhue County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Nelson Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Nelson Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty 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.