76 Twin Cities Lakes, Rivers Named In Latest Polluted Waters List

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Dozens of Twin Cities lakes were named Tuesday in Minnesota’s new draft list of impaired waters.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released its draft of the 2026 impaired waters list Tuesday morning, giving Minnesotans the latest look at which lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands do not meet state water quality standards.

Patch identified 76 Twin Cities-area waterbodies named in the newly released draft list.

The list includes well-known metro lakes with problems involving nutrients, mercury in fish tissue, chloride, PFOS, and other pollutants or stressors.

The MPCA also proposed removing impairments from 45 waterbodies, the most removals in a two-year cycle since Minnesota started the impaired waters list program in 1992.

Still, many Twin Cities lakes remain on the newly released draft list.

Here are some of the metro-area lakes named in the MPCA’s draft 2026 impaired waters list:

Hennepin County

• Bde Maka Ska: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS
• Brownie Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
• Cedar Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Diamond Lake: nutrients
• Eagle Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Harriet Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Hiawatha Lake: chloride, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Lake of the Isles: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Long Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Medicine Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Nokomis Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PCBs in fish tissue
• Parkers Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
• Powderhorn Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Silver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients

Ramsey County

• Como Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Gervais Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Johanna Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Little Johanna Lake: chloride, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• McCarron Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Phalen Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Pike Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Pleasant Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Silver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• South Long Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Turtle Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• White Bear Lake: mercury in fish tissue

Dakota County

• Alimagnet Lake: nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Blackhawk Lake: mercury in fish tissue
• Byllesby Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Crystal Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Farquar Lake: nutrients
• Fish Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Keller Lake: nutrients
• Lac Lavon: mercury in fish tissue
• Long Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Rebecca Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Thompson Lake: chloride, nutrients

Washington County

• Battle Creek Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
• Carver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
• Clear Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• DeMontreville Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Elmo Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS
• Fish Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Forest Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PCBs in fish tissue
• Long Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• St. Croix Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PCBs in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
• Tanners Lake: chloride, PFOS in fish tissue

Scott County

• Cedar Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Cleary Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Fish Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Lower Prior Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• O’Dowd Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• Pike Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Spring Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Upper Prior Lake: mercury in fish tissue

Carver County

• Bavaria Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• Eagle Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• East Auburn Lake: fish bioassessments, nutrients
• Goose Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Hazeltine Lake: nutrients
• Hydes Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Lotus Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Minnewashta Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• Riley Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• Susan Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Waconia Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
• Wassermann Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients

Anoka County

• Bald Eagle Lake: mercury in fish tissue
• Centerville Lake: nutrients
• Coon Lake: mercury in fish tissue
• Crooked Lake: mercury in fish tissue
• Linwood Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Martin Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
• Peltier Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
• Rice Lake: nutrients, sulfate
• Silver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients

The draft 2026 list also includes newly proposed additions and proposed removals.

In all, the MPCA is proposing to remove impairments from 45 waterbodies and add 46 impairments to bodies of water across the state.

The agency said this year’s list assessed and reviewed the Cannon River, Nemadji River, Leech Lake River and Grand Marais Creek watersheds, among others.

Common impairments in some watersheds include poor habitat, sediment and nutrients, which can stress fish and insect populations, according to the MPCA.

Minnesota develops its impaired waters list every two years under the federal Clean Water Act. The draft 2026 list will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which makes the final decision on approving the list.

The newly released draft list is open for public comment through 11:59 p.m. July 22.

Minnesotans can comment on whether additional waters should be added to or removed from the list. The MPCA also plans to hold public meetings about the draft list.