Chippewa, Rusk
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Sand Lake, in the Holcombe Flowage Watershed, is a 271.76 acre lake that falls in Chippewa and Rusk Counties. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1971, Surface Water Resources of Rusk County Sand Lake, T33N, R8W, Section 33
A soft water, seepage lake with an intermittent outlet to nearby Goose Lake. Northern pike, walleyes, and largemouth bass, are all abundant, and muskellunge are common. Other fish species include bluegills, perch, black crappie, rock bass, pumpkinseed, bullheads, and cisco. The shoreline is mainly upland hardwood and conifer, with scattered areas of bog. Littoral bottom types vary and include sand, gravel, rock and muck. Game includes beaver, muskrat, and nesting and migratory ducks. There are three resorts, one boat rental, and 48 cottages on the lake. Public frontage amounts to 0.05 mile of shoreline owned by the Town of Big Bend, and there is a public access on the west side of the lake.
Surface Acres = 261.9, Maximum Depth = 91 feet, M.P.A. = 20 ppm, Secchi disk = 12 feet
Date 1971
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Sand Lake was placed on the impaired waters list in 2012 for mercury in fish tissue. Evaluations, in the 2016 and 2018 cycles, of phosphorus and chlorophyll showed no additional impairment.
Date 2018
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
| Project Name (Click for Details) | Year Started |
|---|
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: Sand Lake Association, Inc. 2020 CBCW | 2020 |
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: Sand Lake Association 2017 CBCW | 2017 |
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: Sand Lake Association, Inc. 2018 CBCW | 2018 |
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: Sand Lake Association, Inc. 2019 CBCW | 2019 |
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: HLR- Healthy Lakes | 2022 |
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: PREV - Sand Lake Association ILIDS Project | 2024 |
| SAND LAKE ASSOCIATION, INC.: HLR - Healthy Lakes & Rivers 2023 | 2023 |
| Fish Propagation Actions | 2001 |
|
Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 2353600 | Sand Lake | 10018299 | Sand Lake -- Access | 6/20/2011 | 9/1/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2353600 | Sand Lake | 553183 | Sand Lake - Sand Lake (3308w33) | | | Map | Data |
| 2353600 | Sand Lake | 10005376 | Sand Lake | 8/29/2000 | 9/12/2017 | Map | Data |
| 2353600 | Sand Lake | 553067 | Sand Lake - Deep Hole | 8/10/1986 | 7/1/2023 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Sand Lake is located in the Holcombe Flowage watershed which is 170.38 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (53.90%), wetland (23.30%) and a mix of open (9.10%) and other uses (13.70%). This watershed has 216.07 stream miles, 6,687.77 lake acres and 19,889.41 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Medium for runoff impacts on lakes and Low for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of Low. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.This water is ranked High Lake for individual Lakes based on runoff problems and the likelihood of success from project implementation.