Edina

ABOUT INDIANHEAD LAKE

Indianhead Lake, east of Highway 169 in Edina, is a shallow lake that has poor water quality.

Printable Indianhead Lake Fact Sheet

Street map of Indianhead lake area
Indianhead Lake, Edina

Water Quality

Indianhead Lake’s water quality is poor, measurements for phosphorus and water clarity failed to meet the state standards for shallow lakes. Data collected in 2020 showed that Indianhead Lake is impaired. Indianhead is a land-locked basin with no surface outlet. For that reason, the lake water doesn’t flush out, causing nutrients to build up in the lake, especially during large rain events. Although more nutrients generally lead to more algal and plant growth, more nutrients do not guarantee more plant diversity. Monitoring teams only catalogued three different plant species in the 2020 plant survey. Two of those three plants were invasive species. Overall, the water quality of Indianhead Lake is poor and the plant diversity is also poor and includes invasive species.

Graph of water clarity in Indianhead Lake from 2004 - 2024.
Water clarity in Indianhead lake has worsened over time; recently its has increased above the state standard.
Graph of chlorophyll-a in Indianhead lake from 2004 - 2024.
Chlorophyll-a levels in Indianhead lake have recently dropped below the state standard.
Graph showing phosphorus levels in Indianhead Lake from 2004 - 2024.
Phosphorus levels in Indianhead lake recently have dropped below the state standard.

 

 

Current Projects

The District has completed a lake water quality study that identifies potential water quality improvement projects to help improve the overall health of the lakes. This study was finished in early 2022.

In addition to the water quality study, the City of Edina had fisheries surveys done on Arrowhead and Indianhead Lakes.

 

Learn more at the water quality study page here: Arrowhead and Indianhead Lake Study.

The District has helped fund several best management projects near Indianhead Lake. Best management projects include raingardens, shoreline buffers, habitat restorations, and more. These projects help reduce runoff that enters Indianhead Lake.

For information about other past District projects, click here.

Recreation

Indianhead Lake does not have opportunities or access for public recreation.

 

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. Any information they have 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

diagram of ways to clean water—clean off boats for AIS, sweep up leaves and grass, pick up after pets, and plant native plants