Spring Lake

Quick Facts

DNR Lake Number: 70005400
Surface Area: 587 acres
Average Depth: 18 feet
Maximum Depth: 34 feet
Ordinary High Water Level: 912.8 feet above sea level
High Water No-Wake Restrictions: When lake level exceeds 912.8 feet*
Watershed Area: 12,430 acres
Connectivity to other waterbodies: Flows north into Upper Prior Lake. Receives the water which drains from the primarily agricultural upper watershed.
Public Boat Access: Vergus Ave (southwest corner of the lake)
Impairment Status: Impairments for Mercury,** Biota,*** and Excess Nutrients****

*No-Wake restrictions are set by the City of Prior Lake and enforced by the Scott County Sheriff. Once high water levels have subsided and remained below the no-wake level (912.8 ft) for 72 hours, no-wake restrictions will be lifted.

**Mercury impairments are not handled at the local government level. The State of MN has a TMDL they are following here.

***Biota impairments are not handled at the local government level. The State of MN addresses impaired biota by examining the interactions of numerous physical, chemical, and biological processes that define community composition. Biological impairments can be driven by natural or unnatural changes to one or many components of these systems. Biological impairments differ from some traditional water quality impairments in that the impaired biotic communities are indicators of disturbance rather than causes of disturbance. Biological impairments are commonly caused by stressors that are not considered conventional pollutants. These include stressors such as degraded habitat or altered hydrology. Minnesota utilizes the process of stressor identification developed by the EPA to identify the dominant stressors.

****See the TMDL study for more information.

Lake Level Data

All lake level data below are approximate and preliminary – NOT to be used for legal purposes. Sudden drops or spikes are often due to calibration, which are manual adjustments to correct the lake level value. Please contact the PLSLWD office for official readings. Lake levels after 2012 were collected using an automated level logger that is calibrated to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) staff gauge. Lake levels prior to 2012 were recorded by reading the DNR staff gauge manually.

Note: Graphs will not draw properly with Internet Explorer 9 or older browsers. Newer versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browsers will work properly. Dates prior to 2014 are recorded in a local datum to be consistent with the DNR staff gauge readings. Data in 2014 and beyond will be displayed in NVGD29 datum.

Flow

Estimated flow through the Spring Lake outlet stream, calculated from a rating curve based on past measurements of lake level and discharge. Note that the rating curve is only valid for lake elevations between 910 and 914 and when there is no temporary dam in place (e.g. 2014 flood control efforts). Stream discharge is calculated in cubic feet per second (cfs).

04/03/2019-Spring Lake flow data has been corrected, but is still very approximate, especially until the lake is free of ice.

Water Temperature

Temperature data available from March 31, 2017 onward. Sensor is located in the channel entering Spring Lake from the south, so temperatures do not reflect surface conditions on the lake.