Uff Lake
Polk County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Uff Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 29 ft max depth
Uff Lake in Polk County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 35 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 20.5 µg/L.
Uff Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Polk County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 29 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 18 other monitored lakes in Polk County, Uff Lake ranks #15 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Uff Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Uff 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 Uff Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Uff 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 35 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 20.5 µg/L. TSI 58.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 35µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 20.5µg/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. | 58 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Uff Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~29 ft est.
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 Uff Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
126 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,247 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 Uff Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Uff Lake in Polk 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 Uff Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Uff Lake
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Fishing Uff Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2023–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.5 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.2 µg/L/yr3 years
EPA Impairment Status
Uff 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 MN60-0119-00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Uff Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Fosston WwtpFosston · 1.5 mi away · NPDES MN0022128Recent violation
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 Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Uff Lake
Where is Uff Lake?
- Uff Lake is a lake in Polk County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Uff Lake?
- Uff Lake in Polk County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 35 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 20.5 µg/L.
Is Uff Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Uff Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Uff Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Uff Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 29 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Uff Lake?
- Public access to Uff 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.
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Where this data comes from
45 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA45 samples · 2023–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder