Eutrophic Lakes in South Dakota
2 eutrophic lakes in South Dakota. High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity.
A eutrophic lake is a productive ecosystem with the trade-offs that come with productivity: more food at the base of the food web, more clarity reduction by mid-summer, more dissolved-oxygen variability near the bottom. 2 South Dakota lakes register as eutrophic. Only 0% are deep — eutrophy correlates with shallowness, agricultural watersheds, and the kind of nutrient-input history that takes decades to shift.
Eutrophic lakes typically carry higher phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings. The same nutrient richness that defines the trophic class shows up in those numbers.
| # | Lake | County | Clarity | Depth | TSI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Traverse Lake | Roberts | 3.9 ft | - | 67 |
| 2 | Big Stone Lake | Roberts | 3 ft | - | 68 |
All eutrophic lakes →Minnesota version →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →Michigan version →Iowa version →Ohio version →Pennsylvania version →New York version →Missouri version →Indiana version →North Dakota version →Florida version →Colorado version →North Carolina version →Vermont version →Texas version →Oregon version →Arkansas version →Oklahoma version →Kansas version →Nebraska version →Nevada version →Arizona version →Idaho version →Montana version →New Mexico version →Tennessee version →Alabama version →Virginia version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →Georgia version →Massachusetts version →Ontario version →Québec version →Nova Scotia version →British Columbia version →Newfoundland and Labrador version →All South Dakota lakes →
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.