Waconia Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Waconia Lake at a C: clarity at 7.3 ft, 30 µg/L of phosphorus, and a TSI of 51 signal an intermediate trophic state. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

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. A maximum depth of 37 ft puts Waconia Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. With 3,080 acres of surface and 10.9 miles of shoreline, Waconia Lake is a large water by Minnesota standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Waconia Lake ranks 11 of 40 in Carver County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Waconia Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Waconia Lake's fishery is anchored by muskellunge, with 16 documented species in total — a destination water for muskie anglers. A documented public access point at Waconia Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a long ice-out record — 103 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 10. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.