Medicine Lake
Medicine Lake is a 936 acre (379 ha) heavily urbanized lake with a maximum depth of 49 feet (15m) and a mean depth of 16 ft (5m). The lake is located in Plymouth, MN, within Hennepin County. Lake water quality is poor due to high nutrient levels, and the lake is classified as an impaired resource by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.


To address the Medicine Lake nutrient issue the new Lake Access EMPACT project is doing the following:

  • A community experiment: Monitoring urban runoff under normal and phosphorus-free fertilization regimes.

  • Real-time monitoring:
    We have placed a RUSS unit on to Medicine Lake to collect real-time lake data.

    Stream samplers have been placed in Plymouth and Ridgedale Creeks.
    Use the data visualization applet     to display the data from 2001, 2002, and 2003.

  • Historical data and trends summary: Graphs and data depicting water quality in Medicine lake over time. (see banner above)
 medicine lake map real-time lake data Plymouth Creek data Ridgedale Creek data