Welcome to Sunfish Lake, Minnesota

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the regularly scheduled meeting of the City of Sunfish Lake Planning Commission to be held on December 15, 2022 is canceled due to lack of agenda items.

Please click here for the notice.

The City of Sunfish Lake is unique in a lot of ways.  The large lots, rural feel, and lack of public sewer and water in a community surrounded by city’s with more urban settings and infrastructure makes Sunfish Lake a special place.  With every home in the city on an individual well system, it is more important for our city’s citizens than for the other communities around us to protect and conserve our water resources.  At the time of this writing, the region is entering into what are considered “drought” conditions, which puts even more stress on the local water resources and supplies of water in the ground that each of our wells draws from.  It is strongly encouraged that you consider implementing the water conservation practices outlined below:

• Take shorter showers, which saves gallons of water.
• Add more efficient shower heads which can save as much as 13,000 gallons a year for an average household.  Xcel Energy provides low volume shower heads at the Xcel Energy Store website.
• Toilets are one of the biggest sources of indoor water consumption.  Older toilets use much more water than new toilets.  Make sure you have updated toilets that use less than 1.6 gallons per flush.
• Consider trading in your top-load washer machine for a high efficiency front loading washer.  You can save up to 36 gallons of water per load.
• If your faucets are older, you can benefit from installing aerator flow restrictors on faucets.
• Lawn irrigation use by Americans amounts to about 9 billion gallons of water daily.  In many instances home lawns and landscapes are over-watered. Consider adding soil moisture sensors that prompt the lawn irrigation only when needed.
• It is best to water deeply and infrequently, and watering should not take place during the heat of the day to prevent needless evaporation.
• Consider converting areas of sodded lawn to drought resistant lawn and low-maintenance plantings that require much less watering. 

Implementing the practices outlined above can help to ensure that plentiful fresh groundwater is available for future generations, and will help to protect the special attributes of this unique city.

Are you interested in your local water resources? LMRWMO is Seeking Public Input.  See this link:

 Go to the survey

Many residents may not know that pumping from lakes and wetlands within the City requires a permit.  The SFL City Council first passed an ordinance in 1989 to prohibit pumping from the City’s lakes and wetlands without an approved City Permit.  City Ordinance requires issuance of an Interim Use Permit for pumping of any lake, stream, wetland or natural or man-made pond water.  You can find the specifics of the ordinance in this link: https://www.sunfishlake.org/ordinances/article-xi-protection-of-the-environment/1107-water-use-permit/?template=protostar&print=1&layout=default

The process for water use permit review and approval follows that which is required for Conditional Use Permits – which involves public notice, a public hearing at the Planning Commission,  and review and action by the City Council.   Some of the things that are considered in the review of pumping applications are:

• Whether pumping could occur when the lake is low
• The noise from the pumping machine
• Whether the pumping apparatus has to be removed from the shoreland when pumping is not occurring   
• Whether pumping may occur at night
• How would the pumped water be used and where would it go
• Whether any erosion control needs to be installed

This review process is necessary for the protection of our natural resources.  Please contact City Planner Lori Johnson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to know more about the permitting process, applications and deadlines.