Douglas
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Crystal Lake, in the Totagatic River Watershed, is a 291.36 acre lake that falls in Douglas County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1973, Surface Water Resources of Douglas County Crystal Lake, T43N, R13W, Section 23, 24, 26,
A rather shallow, sandy shored lake in the south central part of the county, it is a landlocked, soft water seepage lake. Water level fluctuations of about five feet occur cyclically. Winter freeze-out conditions occur in the northeast basin, which had a maximum depth of only five feet during the time of the inventory survey; however, the main basin is substantially deeper and is sufficiently deep to prevent winterkill. The fish species considered to be common include walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, perch, bluegill, black crappies, and black bullheads. Other species present in small numbers are pumpkinseed, white sucker, and golden shiner. The northeast bay is muck bottomed and has an abundance of aquatic vegetation. The DNR has purchased a lakeshore easement on 3,840 feet of frontage to preserve the northern pike spawning grounds here as part of the remnant warmwater fish habitat program. Muskrats are common to the lake, along with nesting mallards, teal, wood ducks, and loons. Diving ducks are common spring and fall migrants. There are four resorts and 30 cottages around Crystal Lake. A public access is located on the east shore. Public frontage is limited to the town access and the state easement frontage.
Surface Acres-292.6, Maximum Depth-21 feet, M.P.A.-24 ppm, Secchi Disk-8 feet
Date 1973
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
General Condition
Crystal Lake (2459700) 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
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 |
|---|
| 2459700 | Crystal Lake | 10002158 | Crystal Lake | 9/5/2000 | 9/12/2017 | Map | Data |
| 2459700 | Crystal Lake | 10019051 | Crystal Lake -- Access at NE Side Of Lake Off Crystal Lake Rd | 10/31/2006 | 8/7/2020 | Map | Data |
| 2459700 | Crystal Lake | 163392 | Crystal Lake - Near Deep Hole | 6/27/1999 | 7/24/2016 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Crystal Lake is located in the Totagatic River watershed which is 329.93 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (70.70%), wetland (22.10%) and a mix of open (5%) and other uses (2.00%). This watershed has 275.08 stream miles, 6,681.38 lake acres and 42,970.25 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.