Overview

Lake Emily is one of the more popular recreational lakes in Portage County. It is a moderately hard water seepage lake located one-half mile west of Amherst Junction. It is four times as long as it is wide, giving it the illusion of being smaller than it really is. Marl and sand are the primary bottom materials in the littoral zone with gravel and rubble areas also present. The bottom drops off very rapidly resulting in large areas of deep water. About 23 percent of the lake is greater than 20 feet deep. The lake develops a midsummer thermocline at about fifteen feet. The water is clear but subject to mild algae blooms. There is one intermittent inlet from. Mud Lake to the west. There is no outlet. Northern pike, walleye, perch, largemouth bass, bluegill, and black crappie are common. Rock bass, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, yellow bullhead, and white sucker are also present. Ducks use the lake for nesting and resting but not in large numbers. There is not much other wildlife use due to heavy development around the shore. There are approximately one hundred cottages on the lake. It is interesting to note that the shoreline owned by the county and leased to individuals is generally as overcrowded and overdeveloped as the privately owned lands, and in some areas of the lake even more so. Other facilities include a large county park with a sand beach, change houses, concession stand, picnic area, campground with electricity, playground, and deer pen. Boat launching areas are present on the east and the southwest shores. One boat livery and two resorts are also present. A local ordinance limits water skiing to an area west of the swimming beach and between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Motor speeds are limited to five miles per hour at all other times. Surface Acres-104.6, S.D.F.- 2.03, Maximum Depth-36 feet Source: 1972, Surface Water Resources of Portage County Lake Emily, T23N, R10E, Section 18,

Date  1972

Author   Aquatic Biologist

General Condition

Emily Lake (189800) was assessed during the 2016 listing cycle; total phosphorus and chlorophyll sample data were clearly below 2016 WisCALM listing thresholds for the Recreation use and Fish and Aquatic Life use. This water is meeting these designated uses and is not considered impaired.

Date  2015

Author  Ashley Beranek

Condition

Wisconsin has over 84,000 miles of streams, 15,000 lakes and milllions of acres of wetlands. Assessing the condition of this vast amount of water is challenging. The state's water monitoring program uses a media-based, cross-program approach to analyze water condition. An updated monitoring strategy (2015-2020) is now available. Compliance with Clean Water Act fishable, swimmable standards are located in the Executive Summary of Water Condition in 2018. See also the 'monitoring and projects' tab.

Reports

Management Goals

Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more]. Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable

Management goals can include creation or implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, a Nine Key Element Plan, or other restoration work, education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below online.

Monitoring

Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area. Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy was recenty updated.

Grants and Management Projects

Monitoring Projects

Watershed Characteristics

Lake Emily is located in the Waupaca River watershed which is 290.77 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (43.70%), agricultural (30.40%) and a mix of grassland (14%) and other uses (11.80%). This watershed has 231.34 stream miles, 2,456.10 lake acres and 14,124.68 wetland acres.

Nonpoint Source Characteristics

This watershed is ranked Medium for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.However, all waters are affected by diffuse pollutant sources regardless of initial water quality. Applications for specific runoff projects under state or county grant programs may be pursued. For more information, go to surface water program grants.