Bush Lake - Nine Mile Creek Watershed District

Bloomington

ABOUT BUSH LAKE

Bush Lake, west of Hyland Park Reserve in Bloomington, is a clear, shallow lake that is a popular site for picnics and fishing.

Road map of Bush Lake — Bush Lake, Bloomington

Water Quality

Decreasing phosphorus levels in Bush Lake — Phosphorus levels in Bush Lake continue to decline and have been better than the state standard since 2005.

Water quality in Bush Lake is excellent—monitoring parameters meet state standards. The current nutrient levels of the lake are low enough to prevent large, unwanted algae blooms. However, there are occasional algae blooms that are visible during summer months. Algae blooms can occur when urban stormwater runoff enters the lake, containing excess phosphorus. Phosphorus is the nutrient that fuels algae growth. Aquatic invasive species are present in the lake. They include curly-leaf pondweed, Eurasian watermilfoil, and common carp.

Graph of chlorophyll-a in Bush lake, levels have declined since 2006 — Chlorophyll-a levels in Bush Lake have declined in recent years and continue to be better than the state standard.

Graph showing water clarity in Bush Lake increasing since 2006 — Water clarity in Bush Lake is increasing in recent years.

Printable lake fact sheet

Past Projects

Bush Lake was previously landlocked. This means the water entering the lake remained in the lake and seeped into the ground or evaporated. But, rising lake levels raised concerns among residents regarding flooding impacts on nearby properties, so an outlet was installed in 2000. The outlet pumps water from Bush Lake to Southeast Anderson Lake when lake levels are higher than the normal elevation. Currently, the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District does not have any projects planned for Bush Lake. The low nutrient levels and high water clarity indicate good water quality and do not require the watershed district to do a water quality improvement project at this time.

For information about other past District projects, click here.

The Bush Lake Izaak Walton League is also headquartered on Bush Lake, and they have done numerous shoreline and habitat restoration projects around the lake.

Recreation

Bush Lake is a perfect lake for recreation. Amenities include 4.4 miles loop around the lake for hiking and biking, picnic areas, volley ball nets, a playground, a swimming beach, and boat launch. A variety of fish species live in the lake including: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, tiger muskellunge, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch, common carp, white sucker, central mudminnow, golden shiner, and Iowa darter.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources may have additional information on the lake (including fishing regulations; location; water access sites; lake maps; lake reports on stocking, ice in/out and water quality; fish consumption; and aquatic plant surveys) if so, that information can be found here:

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html

Downloadable water quality data can be found here:

https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/water-quality-data