Jefferson
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Mud Lake, in the Lower Crawfish River Watershed, is a 83.52 acre lake that falls in Jefferson County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2018
Author Ashley Beranek
Historical Description
Source: 1968, Surface Water Resources of Jefferson County Mud Lake, T7N, R13E, Section 26
A small drainage lake located in marsh deposits south of Rock Lake. The Lake Mills wildlife Area encompasses the lake and provides public access to nearly all shoreline. The lake is unimpounded and has a ditched outlet which is generally traversable by boat. The water is clear and very hard overlying a muck bottom. Northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegills, black crappies and bullheads provide fishing. A county road provides access with parking and a boat livery provides added opportunities. Waterfowl make moderate use of the lake and an adjoining 1,423 acres of wetland.
Surface Acres = 93.0, S.D.F. = 1.29, Maximum Depth = 22 feet
Date 1968
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Mud Lake (WBIC 830800) was assessed during the 2018 listing cycle; new total phosphorus sample data overwhelmingly exceeded the 2018 WisCALM listing thresholds for the Recreation use and Fish and Aquatic Life use. Chlorophyll-a sample data also exceeded the REC and FAL use thresholds. This lake was proposed for total phosphorus listing in 2018.
Date 2017
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
Lake Classification
Jefferson County Land and Water Conservation Department will undertake a lake classification process. The resulting lake classification system will enable the County and other lake management entities to implement appropriate lake management strategies in a priority -driven and efficient manner. It will result in the protection and restoration of the water quality and natural ecosystems of the lakes in Jefferson County.
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 |
|---|
| 830800 | Mud Lake | 283202 | Mud Lake - Deep Hole | 8/29/1979 | 8/20/2024 | Map | Data |
| 830800 | Mud Lake | 284003 | Mud Lake - Mud Lake | | | Map | Data |
| 830800 | Mud Lake | 10046764 | Phragmites Occurrence - Wetland between Mud Lake and Rock Creek | | | Map | Data |
| 830800 | Mud Lake | 10003058 | Mud Lake | 7/27/1999 | 9/30/2017 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Mud Lake is located in the Lower Crawfish River watershed which is 177.65 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (66.50%), grassland (11.20%) and a mix of wetland (10.70%) and other uses (11.60%). This watershed has 331.66 stream miles, 1,780.53 lake acres and 12,199.86 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Low for runoff impacts on streams, Not Available for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. 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.