Washburn
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Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Bass Lake, in the Brill and Red Cedar Rivers Watershed, is a 101.43 acre lake that falls in Washburn County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1978, Surface Water Resources of Washburn County Bass Lake, T37N, R10W, Section 5, 6, 7, 8, Surface Acres-129.5, Maximum Depth-66 feet, M.P.A.-10 ppm, Secchi Disk-14 feet.
A soft water, seepage lake, it is landlocked but connected to two other seepage lakes -- Red and Loon Lakes. These irregular-shaped, deep, clear-water lakes lie in the end moraine in the southwest part of the county. Common fish species are largemouth bass and panfish, mainly bluegills. Walleyes are also present and, perhaps, northern pike. No recent population surveys have been made of these lakes. The shoreline is made up almost exclusively of hard materials of gravel, sand, and boulder. Some of the shore drops sharply to the lake. Wetlands are scarce around the lake except for three small marshes and a small floating bog. Water levels may fluctuate as much as four feet during years of low precipitation. Muskrats are common and a few broods of mallards, teal, and wood ducks are raised in association with the ten acres of wetlands. A moderate amount of aquatic vegetation consisting of bulrushes, water lilies and coontail is found in the shallower areas. The lake is accessible only from Red Lake by water. It can be used in most years. There is also a broad channel to Loon Lake, but this lake does not have a developed public access. About one-half, or 2.99 miles, of the shoreline of Bass Lake is in public ownership, 2.34 miles on the main shore is Washburn County Forest land and the remaining 0.65 mile is the frontage on five state-owned islands. The only private development is a resort on the north shore of the lake.
Date 1978
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
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
| Project Name (Click for Details) | Year Started |
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Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
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| 1833300 | Bass Lake | 10006720 | Bass Lake | 9/5/2000 | 9/12/2017 | Map | Data |
| 1833300 | Bass Lake | 664002 | Bass Lake (3710e07) - Deep Hole | 7/24/1979 | 7/24/1979 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Bass Lake is located in the Brill and Red Cedar Rivers watershed which is 297.68 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (49.40%), agricultural (20.30%) and a mix of grassland (10.70%) and other uses (19.60%). This watershed has 264.90 stream miles, 6,282.34 lake acres and 15,832.05 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Medium for runoff impacts on streams, Medium 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.