Swartout Lake
Wright County, Minnesota171 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Swartout Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 44 ft max depth
Swartout Lake in Wright County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 489 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 52.6 µg/L. Surface area: 171 acres.
Swartout Lake is a 171-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Wright County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 44 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 3 documented fish species including black bullhead, common carp, and northern pike. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 50 other monitored lakes in Wright County, Swartout Lake ranks #50 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swartout Lake covers about 170 acres in Wright County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Swartout Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Swartout Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Fishing3 species recorded
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Swartout Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Swartout Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Swartout Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Swartout Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.6 ft. Phosphorus 489 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 52.6 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 489µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 52.6µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 73 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Swartout Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Swartout Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 72°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 76°F) and coldest in May (about 62°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (62°F) to its warmest (76°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 114 field readings (2010–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Swartout Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~44 ft est.
Surface area
171 acres
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Swartout Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,010 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Swartout Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Swartout Lake in Wright County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Swartout Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Swartout Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Minnesota’s top lakes →
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Swartout Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-11.05 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+4.46 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Swartout Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Swart Watts Lake (completed 1941), built primarily for recreation on the Clearwater River-TR; gravity-type dam, 8 ft tall and 30 ft long.
- Surface area
- 171 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,026 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,539 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- MNDNR
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN00532 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Swartout Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN86-0208-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Wright County
Frequently asked questions about Swartout Lake
Where is Swartout Lake?
- Swartout Lake is a lake in Wright County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Swartout Lake?
- Swartout Lake in Wright County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 489 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 52.6 µg/L. Surface area: 171 acres.
Is Swartout Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Swartout Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Swartout Lake?
- Swartout Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September, from 114 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Swartout Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Swartout Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 44 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 171 acres.
What fish are in Swartout Lake?
- Fish species found in Swartout Lake include black bullhead, common carp, northern pike. Swartout Lake is located in Wright County, Minnesota.
Can I fish at Swartout Lake?
- Public access to Swartout Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Swartout Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
58 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA58 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder