Watap Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Watap Lake at a C: clarity at 9.0 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 45 signal an intermediate trophic state.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake's 210 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. Watap Lake covers 1,993 acres alongside 35.7 miles of shoreline, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Watap Lake sits at rank 93 of 128 in Cook County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Watap Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. 1 fish species are documented at Watap Lake, a mixed warm-water community typical for Minnesota lakes of this size. No formal public access is documented at Watap Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.