What is the cleanest lake near Buffalo Lake?

Round Lake in McHenry County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 20.7 miles from Buffalo Lake.

Why is Buffalo Lake not Grade A?

Buffalo Lake holds Grade F, with about 0.3 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 Buffalo Lake in Wisconsin, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Buffalo Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Buffalo Lake

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

Buffalo Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Round Lake (McHenry County, Grade A, 20.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Round Lake

McHenry County, Wisconsin · 20.7 mi from Buffalo Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → A)
++11.8 ft water clarity

Harvey Dam Lake

Wells County, Wisconsin · 17.1 mi from Buffalo Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++5.1 ft water clarity

Balta Dam Lake

Pierce County, Wisconsin · 14.8 mi from Buffalo Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++4.9 ft water clarity

Lake George

McHenry County, Wisconsin · 28.5 mi from Buffalo Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++2.2 ft water clarity

Antelope Lake

Pierce County, Wisconsin · 12.6 mi from Buffalo Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)
++3.2 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.