Wells Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric Wells Lake fails the cutoffs — a TSI of 71 and persistent algal pressure put it in the bottom tier. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The hypereutrophic status — TSI 71 — reflects sustained heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed and frequent algal pressure. A maximum depth of just 4 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. At 677 acres, Wells Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 12.5 miles of shoreline. Within the 12 graded lakes of Rice County, Wells Lake sits at rank 11, near the bottom of the county list.

An invasive species record — flowering rush — has been logged at Wells Lake; Minnesota PCA maintains the official infested-waters list. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 15 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The lake has a long ice-out record — 28 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Mar 29. 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.