F

Silver Lake

Palo Alto County, WisconsinHypereutrophic

Silver Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Palo Alto County, IA. Water quality is graded F based on 2 sampling years through 2024. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Palo Alto County, Silver Lake ranks #2 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, local state DNR records, last sampled 2024-09-11. Grade methodology: LakeGrade methodology.

Swimming Safety

Avoid swimming, very poor water quality, potential algae toxins

Water Quality Grade: F, Very Poor

Very murky, less than 1.2 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a: 53.9 µg/L. Trophic State Index: 72.

Metric	Value	Grade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)	1.2 ft	F
Phosphorus	No data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)	53.9 µg/L	F
Trophic State Index (TSI)	72	Hypereutrophic

Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity

Location

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County Ranking

Ranked #2 of 3 lakes in Palo Alto County

Cleaner Lakes Within 30 Miles

Silver Lake holds Grade F. 5 nearby lakes hold higher grades.

See full comparison →

Nearby Lakes in Palo Alto County

Lost Island Lake

Palo Alto County

Five Island Lake

Palo Alto County

Buena Vista County

Stolley Pit Lake

Dickinson County

More Wisconsin Lake Rankings

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Top 25 by overall water quality score

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Grade A/B + low algae filter

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Panfish-rich, public access

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Other Grade F Lakes in Wisconsin

Polk County · Clarity: 2.6 ft

Pottawattamie County · Clarity: 1.8 ft

Mahaska County · Clarity: 1.4 ft

Crystal Lake Max Depth

Hancock County · Clarity: 1.6 ft

Benton County · Clarity: 1.2 ft

Briggs Woods Lake

Hamilton County · Clarity: 1.5 ft

Hypereutrophic Lakes in Wisconsin

White Oak Lake Hannen Lake Briggs Woods Lake Union Grove Lake

EPA Impairment Status

Silver Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

Algal growthTurbidity

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IA 04-UDM-1229 · Official waterbody report

Data Sources

Water quality data from the EPA Water Quality Portal

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database

Grading methodology based on Metropolitan Council standards

Most recent sample: 2024-09-11

Monitoring stations: 1