MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Dozens of Twin Cities lakes were named Tuesday in Minnesota’s new draft list of impaired waters.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released its draft of the 2026 impaired waters list Tuesday morning, giving Minnesotans the latest look at which lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands do not meet state water quality standards.
Patch identified 76 Twin Cities-area waterbodies named in the newly released draft list.
The list includes well-known metro lakes with problems involving nutrients, mercury in fish tissue, chloride, PFOS, and other pollutants or stressors.
The MPCA also proposed removing impairments from 45 waterbodies, the most removals in a two-year cycle since Minnesota started the impaired waters list program in 1992.
Still, many Twin Cities lakes remain on the newly released draft list.
Here are some of the metro-area lakes named in the MPCA’s draft 2026 impaired waters list:
Hennepin County
Bde Maka Ska: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS
Brownie Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
Cedar Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Diamond Lake: nutrients
Eagle Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Harriet Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Hiawatha Lake: chloride, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Lake of the Isles: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Long Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Medicine Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Nokomis Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PCBs in fish tissue
Parkers Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
Powderhorn Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Silver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Ramsey County
Como Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Gervais Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Johanna Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Little Johanna Lake: chloride, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
McCarron Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Phalen Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Pike Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Pleasant Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Silver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
South Long Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Turtle Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
White Bear Lake: mercury in fish tissue
Dakota County
Alimagnet Lake: nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Blackhawk Lake: mercury in fish tissue
Byllesby Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Crystal Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Farquar Lake: nutrients
Fish Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Keller Lake: nutrients
Lac Lavon: mercury in fish tissue
Long Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Rebecca Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Thompson Lake: chloride, nutrients
Washington County
Battle Creek Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
Carver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue
Clear Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
DeMontreville Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Elmo Lake: mercury in fish tissue, PFOS
Fish Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Forest Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PCBs in fish tissue
Long Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
St. Croix Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PCBs in fish tissue, PFOS in fish tissue
Tanners Lake: chloride, PFOS in fish tissue
Scott County
Cedar Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Cleary Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Fish Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Lower Prior Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
O’Dowd Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
Pike Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Spring Lake: chloride, fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Upper Prior Lake: mercury in fish tissue
Carver County
Bavaria Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
Eagle Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
East Auburn Lake: fish bioassessments, nutrients
Goose Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Hazeltine Lake: nutrients
Hydes Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Lotus Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Minnewashta Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
Riley Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
Susan Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Waconia Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue
Wassermann Lake: fish bioassessments, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Anoka County
Bald Eagle Lake: mercury in fish tissue
Centerville Lake: nutrients
Coon Lake: mercury in fish tissue
Crooked Lake: mercury in fish tissue
Linwood Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Martin Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
Peltier Lake: mercury in fish tissue, nutrients, PFOS in fish tissue
Rice Lake: nutrients, sulfate
Silver Lake: chloride, mercury in fish tissue, nutrients
The draft 2026 list also includes newly proposed additions and proposed removals.
In all, the MPCA is proposing to remove impairments from 45 waterbodies and add 46 impairments to bodies of water across the state.
The agency said this year’s list assessed and reviewed the Cannon River, Nemadji River, Leech Lake River and Grand Marais Creek watersheds, among others.
Common impairments in some watersheds include poor habitat, sediment and nutrients, which can stress fish and insect populations, according to the MPCA.
Minnesota develops its impaired waters list every two years under the federal Clean Water Act. The draft 2026 list will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which makes the final decision on approving the list.
Minnesotans can comment on whether additional waters should be added to or removed from the list. The MPCA also plans to hold public meetings about the draft list.