Whitewater Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Whitewater Lake pulls an A: clarity at 15.4 ft and 14 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Whitewater Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. At 73 ft of maximum depth, Whitewater Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. At 1,212 acres, Whitewater Lake is one of the larger lakes in St. Louis County, with 18.1 miles of shoreline supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Within St. Louis County's 187 graded waters, Whitewater Lake sits at rank 25, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Whitewater Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 15 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Whitewater Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.