1
AHalf Moon Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 1.7 mi from Balsam Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++42.6 ft water clarity
Cleaner Lakes Than Balsam Lake
4 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Balsam Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Half Moon Lake (Polk County, Grade A, 1.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ABalsam Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 1 mi from Balsam Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++35.3 ft water clarity
3
ALost Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 2.7 mi from Balsam Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++12.3 ft water clarity
4
ALoveless Lake
Polk County, Wisconsin · 4 mi from Balsam Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++19.7 ft water clarity
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.