Eagle Lake
A 64-acre shallow backwater lake of the Mississippi River.
Eagle Lake, also known as North Star Lake, is a backwater lake located in the Mississippi River Bottomlands subwatershed. Eagle Lake has limited recreational use, as there is no public boat access and the lake is surrounded by industry. However, carry‑on access is legal and bank fishing is possible off the roadway on the west side of the lake. Eagle Lake receives discharge from Fish Creek and the Blufflands subwatershed.
Lake facts
- Tributary area: 3,724 areas
- Downstream waterbody: Mississippi River
- DNR code: 62‑0237P (click for LakeFinder data)
- Surface area: 64 acres
- Maximum depth: 5 feet
- MPCA designations: Shallow lake; impaired for mercury and PCB
- Accountable municipalities: St. Paul, Ramsey County
Water Quality
Historical water quality data for Eagle Lake is limited, as the lake is not currently monitored by the District or Ramsey County because the water quality of the lake is so highly influenced by the quality of the Mississippi River. Satellite imagery acquired between 1999 and 2001 indicated that the lake’s transparency depth is between 1.5 and 3.0 feet.
Industrial land use adjacent to Eagle Lake may affect water quality. In 2012, Gerdau Ameristeel US, Inc. began a project to remove approximately 13,000 cubic yards of metal‑contaminated sediment from about 3.5 acres of the lake. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency published an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the project in 2012. A lake vegetation survey completed in August 2011 as part of the EAW concluded that the plant composition in Eagle Lake is low diversity and is dominated by common species that are often associated with silt substrates and turbid water.