1
AHalf Moon Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 1.6 mi from Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++31.1 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (13.9 vs 42.7 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site
4 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Half Moon Lake (Polk County, Grade A, 1.6 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ABalsam Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 0.9 mi from Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++23.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (23.4 vs 42.7 µg/L)
3
ALost Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 2 mi from Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (25.4 vs 42.7 µg/L)
4
ALoveless Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 3.8 mi from Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++8.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (28.9 vs 42.7 µg/L)
How this list is built
Every lake on LakeQuality has a calculated grade from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measured against Metropolitan Council thresholds. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by grade improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.