Rusk
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No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Potato Lake, in the Holcombe Flowage Watershed, is a 540.34 acre lake that falls in Rusk County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2014
Author Ashley Beranek
Historical Description
Source: 1971, Surface Water Resources of Rusk County Potato Lake, T33N, R8, 9W, Section: several, Surface Acres = 545.3, Maximum Depth = 40 feet, M.P.A. = 97 ppm A hard water, drainage lake, one of the largest lakes in the county. There are three inlets, none of them trout waters, and an outlet to Potato Creek. The outlet has an estimated normal flow of 9.0 cfs. There is a one-foot head dam at the outlet. Its fish population consists of muskellunge, northern pike, walleyes, largemouth bass, bluegills, perch, black crappie, rock bass, pumpkinseed, and bullheads. Rough fish include white suckers, redhorse, and carp. The bay east of CTH "N" has an abundant weed growth, and the lake is subject to algae blooms. About 60 percent of the shoreline is upland hardwood, with the remainder being wetlands of conifer swamp. The littoral bottom is mostly muck, with small areas of rubble and gravel. The extensive wetlands provide good habitat for the waterfowl that use the lake for nesting and during migration. Few furbearers are present. There are 8 resorts and 38 cottages on the lake. Public frontage includes 0.25 mile owned by Rusk County, 0.01 mile owned by the State of Wisconsin. There are two public accesses, one near the outlet dam and another with limited parking space on the north side of the lake.
Date 1971
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Potato Lake was evaluated every two-year cycle from 2014 to 2022; phosphorus levels were too high, reflected by algal blooms. This lake is on the Impaired Waters List.
Date 2022
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
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 10018315 | Potato Lake -- Access | 9/16/2013 | 7/29/2015 | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 134 | Potato Lake - Potato At Potato Lake | | | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 553179 | Potato Lake - Potato Lake | | | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 553146 | Potato Lake - North Basin | | | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 10020309 | Potato Lake - Little Potato Lake -- Ramp | 9/16/2013 | 9/16/2013 | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 10005378 | Potato Lake | 8/7/2001 | 6/15/2022 | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 553135 | Potato Lake - No Basin - Deep Hole | | | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 553133 | Potato Lake - North Basin- Deepest Spot | 9/27/1976 | 6/15/2022 | Map | Data |
| 2355300 | Potato Lake | 553136 | Potato Lake - South Basin | 8/26/2007 | 7/30/2019 | Map | Data |
| 2354900 | Potato Creek Flowage | 10022235 | Potato Creek Flowage | 7/12/2003 | 9/27/2005 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Potato 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.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.