Burnett, Washburn
No
Yes
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Mckenzie Lake, Middle, in the Lower Namekagon River Watershed, is a 527.05 acre lake that falls in Burnett and Washburn Counties. 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 considered impaired.
Date 2020
Author Ashley Beranek
Historical Description
This lake is located on McKenzie Creek downstream from Big McKenzie Lake. Middle
McKenzie Lake has also been nominated as an "Outstanding Resource Water" candidate. This
lake has good water quality and an excellent fishery. The shoreline community has combined
with the Big McKenzie group to form a combined lake association. Self-help monitoring and
the initiation of progress towards lake management would be desireable for this lake.
Date 1992
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Assessments during the 2020 and 2022 listing cycles showed total phosphorus levels too high for healthy aquatic communities like plants, fish, bugs. Chlorophyll data did not exceed listing thresholds for Recreation or Aquatic Life uses. This water was put on the Impaired Waters List in 2020.
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 |
|---|
| 2706500 | Middle McKenzie Lake | 663115 | Middle McKenzie Lake - Deep Hole | 8/22/2010 | 9/16/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2706500 | Middle McKenzie Lake | 073104 | Middle Mckenzie Lake - Near Deep Hole | 8/16/1992 | 8/25/1999 | Map | Data |
| 2706500 | Middle McKenzie Lake | 10007092 | Middle McKenzie Lake | 5/10/1999 | 5/26/2023 | Map | Data |
| 2706500 | Middle McKenzie Lake | 10018117 | Middle McKenzie Lake -- Access | 8/7/2006 | 9/15/2024 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Middle McKenzie Lake is located in the Lower Namekagon River watershed which is 239.34 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (73.10%), wetland (15.20%) and a mix of open (7.40%) and other uses (4.40%). This watershed has 172.53 stream miles, 12,590.30 lake acres and 21,781.64 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.This water is ranked High Lake for individual Lakes based on runoff problems and the likelihood of success from project implementation.