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For information on Lakes in Wisconsin, contact:
DNR Lake
Division of Water
Bureau of Water Quality

Island on Bear Lake

The DNR has launched a new online tool called the “Water Explorer” that will help users review lake data. The setup is a bit different than the previous reports, so it may take some getting used to. On the plus side, this tool provides more information about the watershed, trends in water quality over time, comparisons between multiple lakes of the same type, and the ability to estimate nutrient loads to a lake.

Differences that users need to be aware of:

  1. The data gets updated approximately every 4 days rather than every night.
  2. Two pieces of information that were displayed previously will not show up at this time:
    • VISUAL WATER LEVEL: low, normal, or high
    • WATER COLUMN APPEARANCE: clear or murky
  3. Temperature and dissolved oxygen results are not currently included. A new module is being worked on and will be released soon.
  4. The source of the data displayed on the Water Explorer is the EPA Water Quality Portal. Unfortunately, not all data found in SWIMS is submitted to the EPA Water Quality Portal (e.g., pre-2000 lab results). If needed, users can still download data directly from SWIMS (see below).
  5. Because of the amount of data being loaded, the Water Explorer may take a few moments to load.

Open the “Water Explorer” (WEx)

    WEx Quick Tips
  1. Display a Single Year or Time Frame:
    1. At the top of the Secchi Depth, Total Phos., or Chlorophyll-a tabs’ pages, enter the year or years of interest (e.g., “2022 to 2022” or “2022 to 2023”)
  2. Print a Report:
    1. Select the year(s) of interest
    2. Right-click on screen
    3. Click Print
    4. Choose Portrait or Landscape orientation to get the best format
    5. Select Output Location & File Name
    6. Click Save
  3. Print/Save a Graph:
    1. Move cursor over the graph making the toolbar visible
    2. Click on the Camera (“Download plot as a png”)
    3. Image will be saved to your Download folder

Download Secchi/Lab Results (raw data)

Download Temperature/D.O. Data (raw data)

Download Note: Depending on your browser, the file may be downloaded to the Downloads folder, a notification may pop up in the browser or you may be asked where to save the file.

Request Water Quality Report (pre-2023 WEx format)

Note:The Water Quality Report is now available via the Water Explorer (WEx) tool listed above. (click the button above, select the year, and then click the Download CLMN Report button). If this functionality does not work for you, please email DNRLakeb@Wisconsin.gov and include the Lake Name and Station ID

If you have questions/concerns or have immediate data needs, please contact: DNRLakeb@Wisconsin.gov