Reitz Lake

Reitz Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. A maximum depth of 36 ft puts Reitz Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. Reitz Lake is small — 92 acres alongside 2.1 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Among the 40 graded lakes in Carver County, Reitz Lake sits at rank 20, above the county median.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Reitz Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. Walleye are documented at Reitz Lake, one of 14 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 7 times at Reitz Lake, with a median around Apr 8. 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.