Shields Lake Quick Facts
Lake Size: 30 acres
Watershed Drainage Area: 538 acres; major land use is mix of semi-urban and rural/agricultural
Maximum Depth: 25.5 feet
Outlet Elevation: 900.0 feet
Low Water Level: 899.77 feet (2006)
High Water Level: 903.99 feet (2003)
Impairments: Nutrients
Invasive Species (2021): Curly-leaf pondweed
Water Quality: 2020 Data
Hypereutrophic, Lake Grade: C-
Summer average total phosphorus: 54 μg/L
Summer average Secchi disc: 3.7 ft
Summer chlorophyll-a: 31 μg/L
Resource Goals
Short Term Goals - Year 2020
- Maintain a water quality rating of D
- Achieve a five-year mean summer phosphorus
concentration at or below 100 μg/L ± 4%.
- Maintain a mean summer secchi depth no less than 4.26 ft.
Long Range Goals - Year 2030
- Attain a water quality rating of C
- Achieve a five-year mean summer phosphorus
concentration at or below 60 μg/L ± 4%.
- Maintain a mean summer secchi depth no less than 4.26 ft.
Long Range Goals - Year 2040
- Maintain a water quality rating of C.
- Achieve a five-year mean summer phosphorus
concentration at or below 60 μg/L ± 4%.
- Maintain a mean summer secchi depth no less than 4.26 ft.
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Shields Lake
Shields Lake is a shallow lake of 30 acres with at 87% of its area in the littoral zone where rooted plants can grow. It's used mainly for fishing and has a public fishing pier. It drains 538 acres with most of that lying to the south of the lake. Shields Lake drains to Forest Lake. The lake was placed on the State's Impaired Waters List in 2006 due to high nutrient levels. It currently has a lake grade of D-, with monitoring in 2015 showing worsening water clarity. Shields Lake has been the focus of a number of past lake improvement efforts including aeration, fish stocking, fish barrier installation, chemical rehabilitation, and alum treatment. The lake's current management includes an aeration system and a fish barrier on the outflow stream to Forest Lake. In 2007, trumpeter swans were noted to be nesting on the lake.
Shields Lake studies and reports can be found here.
