Talcot Lake
Cottonwood County, Minnesota873 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Talcot Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- 6 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Talcot Lake in Cottonwood County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 367 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 193 µg/L. Maximum depth: 6 ft. Surface area: 873.05 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Talcot Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 6 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Minnesota DNR.
Talcot Lake is a 873-acre lake in Cottonwood County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 6 feet. The lake supports 19 documented fish species including bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, and black crappie. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-08-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Talcot Lake covers about 870 acres in Cottonwood County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Talcot Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Talcot Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing19 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Talcot Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Talcot 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 Talcot Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Talcot Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 0.2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 367 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 193 µg/L. TSI 92.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 0.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 367µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 193µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 92 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Talcot Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
6 ft
Surface area
873 acres
Shoreline
8.5 mi
Littoral zone
100%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
528 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,404 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- Talcot LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Talcot Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Talcot Lake in Cottonwood 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Talcot Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Talcot Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Talcot Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Talcot Lake (completed 1941), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Des Moines River; gravity-type dam, 11 ft tall and 538 ft long.
- Surface area
- 873 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,934 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,379 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 518 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- MNDNR-Fisheries and Wildlife
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN00161 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Talcot Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN17-0060-00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Talcot Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits.
- Dundee WwtpBelfast Township · 1.4 mi away · NPDES MN0070271
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Cottonwood County
Frequently asked questions about Talcot Lake
Where is Talcot Lake?
- Talcot Lake is a lake in Cottonwood County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Talcot Lake?
- Talcot Lake in Cottonwood County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 367 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 193 µg/L. Maximum depth: 6 ft. Surface area: 873.05 acres.
Is Talcot Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Talcot Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Talcot Lake?
- Talcot Lake has a maximum depth of 6 feet. The lake covers 873.05 acres.
What fish are in Talcot Lake?
- Fish species found in Talcot Lake include bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, orangespotted sunfish, quillback, river redhorse, shorthead redhorse, walleye, white crappie, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch. Talcot Lake is located in Cottonwood County, Minnesota.
Are there boat ramps on Talcot Lake?
- Talcot Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Talcot Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Talcot Lake?
- Talcot Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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 Talcot Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA3 samples · 2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory