Information on Square Lake

Ordinary High Water      869.2 

100-Yr. Flood Elev     870.0 (District, 100-year, 24 hour) 

Square Lake is an excellent example of a local and state supported effort to protect a pristine lake resource.  Square Lake, considered one of the clearest of 950 metropolitan (Minneapolis/St. Paul) lakes, is ranked in the top 1% for water clarity in the North Central Hardwood Forest Ecoregion of Minnesota. Square Lake has a watershed to lake ratio of only 2.5:1, which contributes to the lake’s excellent water quality. Data collected indicated that the hydrologic inflow consisted of approximately 70% groundwater, 25% precipitation, and only 5% surface runoff.  As suggested in the DNR Fisheries Lake Management Plan summary above, the MN DNR have stocked Square Lake with rainbow trout regularly since 1980.  Square Lake is listed on the EPA’s 303(d) list of impaired waters due to the mercury content in fish.