Reeds Lake

Reeds Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

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. Reeds Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 58 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. The lake's 195 acres and 2.8 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Among the 6 graded lakes in Waseca County, Reeds Lake ranks 1 — in the top quartile locally.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Reeds Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. Walleye are documented at Reeds Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been recorded 13 times at Reeds Lake, with a median around Apr 4. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.