Ramsey county's website says, "Because it is divided by the highway, the eastern and western basins of the lake are connected by a pipe that flows from the west basin into the southwest corner of the eastern basin.

West Savage Lake is 17.4 acres (7.0 ha) with a maximum depth of 5.9 feet (1.8 m); East Savage Lake is 9.6 acres (3.9 ha) with a maximum depth of 5.7 feet (1.7 m)."

Before the state's Department of Transportation decided to dump the silt and road refuse from an I35E expansion in 2009, the lake was deeper and spring-fed.

Within a few weeks of the opening of the freeway drainage design, the spring was clogged with silt and the lake began to fill.

Savage Lake was named for the Indians (formerly called savages) who were once common in the area.