Part of: Bde Maka Ska Park

Bde Maka Ska is the largest lake in the Chain of Lakes, and contributes to Minneapolis’ reputation as one of the most livable cities in America. Home to wind surfing, sea kayaking, canoeing, sailing, fishing and swimming, it is one of the most popular recreation destinations in the Twin Cities. Bde Maka Ska consistently rates excellent in aesthetics and water clarity and has low bacteria levels. High water levels in 2014 increased beach erosion at Bde Maka Ska beaches and may have contributed to increased E. coli levels, leading to a “good” public health score.

Water Clarity

About Secchi Disk Readings

To measure water transparency with a Secchi disk, the disk is lowered from the shaded side of a boat until it cannot be seen. The depth of the water is recorded at the point where the disk reappears upon raising it from its original depth beyond visibility. It is important to remember that the Secchi measurement is a simple, approximate measurement of water clarity and can be influenced by various factors such as time of day, reader’s eyesight, water color and suspended particles in the water. Therefore, Secchi disk readings should be used as a comparative tool to determine trends between lakes and over time.

  • Increased water clarity may be due to reduced nutrient inputs, seasonal algal cycles, decreased sediment inputs, and zooplankton grazing on algae.
  • Decreased water clarity may be due to large algal blooms, increased soil erosion inputs, wind circulation of sediments and nutrients, stormwater inputs, or a decrease in zooplankton.

Secchi readings for the lakes are done during the regular lake sampling schedule, with some lakes sampled every other year. Current Secchi readings taken during lake sampling can be found on the Lake Water Quality Map.

Beaches

LAURI

Lake Aesthetic and User Recreation Index (LAURI)

Bde Maka Ska 2025 LAURI readings. Aesthetics - excellent, water quality - excellent, public health - good, habitat quality - excellent, and recreation access - excellent

The Lake Aesthetic and User Recreation Index (LAURI) was designed to give recreational users an easily understandable graphical source of information about conditions affecting their use of city lakes. The goal is to have an accurate, science based and easily understandable recreational indicator for the public. The LAURI has the five following indices: aesthetic considerations, water clarity, public health, habitat quality, and recreational access. For each of the five indices, the LAURI calculates a value that is then considered poor, good, or excellent.

Click here to view more information on LAURI

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