Spring Lake

Spring Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. 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. The lake bottoms out at 18 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Spring Lake is small — 32 acres alongside 1.0 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Spring Lake sits at rank 28 of 49 in Ramsey County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Spring Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. 4 fish species are on record, with panfish making up the recreational core. No formal public access is documented at Spring Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.