Forest
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Arbutus Lake, in the Lily River Watershed, is a 163.18 acre lake that falls in Forest County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1977, Surface Water Resources of Forest County Arbutus Lake, T34N, R13E, Sec.27
A very soft water seepage lake having slightly alkaline, clear water of high transparency. The littoral zone is mostly sand (65 percent), with some gravel, muck and rubble. The shoreline is predominantly upland hardwood (95 percent), with the remainder coniferous bog. Fish present are walleye, largemouth bass, perch, bluegill and white sucker. Loons reportedly use this lake during migration. Aquatic vegetation is sparse. Commercial facilities consist of two resorts. There are 62 dwellings located on the shoreline.
Surface Acres = 161, Maximum Depth = 35 feet, Secchi disk = 13 feet
Date 1977
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Arbutus Lake (181400) was placed on the impaired waters list for Mercury in fish tissue in 1998. This water 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 lake is considered impaired for Fish Consumption use and meeting REC and FAL uses.
Date 2015
Author Aaron Larson
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
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 181400 | Arbutus Lake | 213142 | Arbutus Lake - Deep Hole | 4/21/1994 | 9/10/2024 | Map | Data |
| 181400 | Arbutus Lake | 10002509 | Arbutus Lake | 7/27/1999 | 8/10/2022 | Map | Data |
| 181400 | Arbutus Lake | 10020059 | Arbutus Lake -- Access | 11/29/2010 | 5/19/2023 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Arbutus Lake is located in the Lily River watershed which is 209.47 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (72.20%), wetland (18.90%) and a mix of open (4.20%) and other uses (4.80%). This watershed has 161.31 stream miles, 4,248.79 lake acres and 18,178.21 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked 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.