What is the cleanest lake near Cedar Lake?

Kalina Dam Lake in Bowman County holds a Grade C water quality score and is 26.3 miles from Cedar Lake.

Why is Cedar Lake not Grade A?

Cedar Lake holds Grade F, with about 1.3 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 Cedar Lake in Wisconsin, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

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

Cleaner Lakes Than Cedar Lake

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

Cedar Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Kalina Dam Lake (Bowman County, Grade C, 26.3 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Kalina Dam Lake

Bowman County, Wisconsin · 26.3 mi from Cedar Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++1.8 ft water clarity

Indian Creek Dam Lake

Hettinger County, Wisconsin · 16.5 mi from Cedar Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++1.8 ft water clarity

Larson Lake

Hettinger County, Wisconsin · 23.6 mi from Cedar Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++3.5 ft water clarity

Bowman-Haley Dam Lake

Bowman County, Wisconsin · 25 mi from Cedar Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++2.6 ft water clarity

Gascoyne Lake

Bowman County, Wisconsin · 12.5 mi from Cedar Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)

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.