Overview

Tomahawk Lake, in the Upper Tomahawk River Watershed, is a 3,461.71 acre lake that falls in Oneida County. This lake is an outstanding/exceptional resource water under NR102 under the Fisheries Program. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.

Date  2011

Author   Aquatic Biologist

Historical Description

Source: 1966, Surface Water Resources of Oneida County Tomahawk Lake, T39N, R7E, Section 31 Surface Acres = 3,626.6, S.D.F. = 3.40, Maximum Depth = 79 feet.

soft water drainage lake having neutral clear water of high transparency. Sand is the predominant littoral material (55 percent) with rubble (20 percent), gravel (19 percent), muck (5 percent) and some boulders. Shoreline is predominantly upland (95 percent) with marsh and bog wetland adjoining limited portions of the lake basin. Fish species found in this lake are muskellunge, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, perch, bluegill, crappie, rock bass, pumpkinseed, bullhead, cisco andsucker. Lake trout have been introduced with the success of this stocking remaining to be evaluated. Public access with parking is available as well as navigable water access by the outlet stream leading to Minocqua Lake. There are 14 resorts, two public campgrounds, 151 dwellings, three youth camps, four marinas, one private campground and one organizational camp located on the shoreline. Mallard, black duck, blue-winged teal, wood duck and hooded merganser use this lake as a nesting site. Puddle ducks and diving ducks utilize this lake on their fall migrations. Water levels are influenced by a water control structure of four feet head, which is located on the outlet of Kawaguesaga Lake. Part of the Minocqua Chain, water levels are influenced by the dam at the outlet of Kawaguesaga Lake.

Date  1966

Author   Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin

General Condition

Tomahawk Lake (1542700) 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

Recommendations

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

Tomahawk Lake is located in the Upper Tomahawk River watershed which is 186.83 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (67%), wetland (16%) and a mix of open (14%) and other uses (3.10%). This watershed has 139.00 stream miles, 17,609.90 lake acres and 20,470.21 wetland acres.

Nonpoint Source Characteristics

This watershed is ranked High for runoff impacts on streams, High 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.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.