What is the cleanest lake near Barnes Lake?

Clark Lake in Stutsman County holds a Grade B water quality score and is 7.6 miles from Barnes Lake.

Why is Barnes Lake not Grade A?

Barnes Lake holds Grade D, with about 6.4 ft of water clarity. The grade reflects measured water quality against Metropolitan Council thresholds. Cleaner alternatives nearby score higher on clarity, phosphorus, or chlorophyll-a.

Are these recommendations based on real data?

Yes. Every grade is calculated from EPA Water Quality Portal samples for the lake. Recommendations are limited to lakes within 30 miles of Barnes Lake in Wisconsin, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Barnes Lake, Top 4 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Barnes Lake

4 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.

Barnes Lake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Clark Lake (Stutsman County, Grade B, 7.6 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Clark Lake

Stutsman County, Wisconsin · 7.6 mi from Barnes Lake

+Two grade letters higher (D → B)
++3.6 ft water clarity

Lake Williams

Kidder County, Wisconsin · 17.4 mi from Barnes Lake

+Two grade letters higher (D → B)

Frettum Dam Lake

Kidder County, Wisconsin · 21.7 mi from Barnes Lake

+Higher grade (D → C)

Bader Lake

Stutsman County, Wisconsin · 28.1 mi from Barnes Lake

+Higher grade (D → C)

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.