1
—Little Sissabagama Lake
Sawyer County, Wisconsin · near Lake Chetac
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- +Lower phosphorus (14.7 vs 56.3 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Lake Chetac
4 lakes with lower nutrient and algae readings nearby, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Lake Chetac carries nutrient and algae readings on record. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes read lower. Little Sissabagama Lake (Sawyer County, Grade B) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
2
—Sissabagama Lake
Sawyer County, Wisconsin · near Lake Chetac
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- +Lower phosphorus (18.7 vs 56.3 µg/L)
3
—Balsam Lake
Washburn County, Wisconsin · near Lake Chetac
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- +Lower phosphorus (19.3 vs 56.3 µg/L)
4
—Birch Lake
Washburn County, Wisconsin · near Lake Chetac
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- +Lower phosphorus (26.1 vs 56.3 µg/L)
Reading the cohort
Within 30 miles of Lake Chetac, 4 water bodies carry lower nutrient and algae readings on the same EPA water-quality metrics. That density of cleaner options is itself a signal: when several nearby lakes read better on the same indicators, the differences at Lake Chetac are typically lake-specific (depth, watershed inflow, stratification pattern) rather than regional. The choice for a swim, paddle, or fishing trip is genuinely between meaningfully different water bodies, not between marginal differences in the same dataset.
The closest cleaner alternative, Little Sissabagama Lake in Sawyer County, sits miles from Lake Chetac. At that distance, the substitution cost is essentially zero: same drive time, same regional access, demonstrably cleaner water on the EPA indicators. For repeat visitors who care about clarity or phosphorus levels, swapping the routine to Little Sissabagama Lake is mostly a habit change rather than a logistics change.
Each lake's nutrient and algae readings — total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity — are shown beside the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition class for that lake's own ecoregion, so a reading is compared against the lakes it would naturally resemble. LakeQuality publishes no letter grade. Lower readings mean measurably less nutrient and algae in the water, not better scenery or access: the lake with the clearest, lowest-nutrient water can have worse boat-launch facilities or shoreline access than a neighbor, so the comparison is one input alongside the rest of trip planning. How the readings are classified is on our methodology page.
How this list is built
Sampled lakes on LakeQuality carry readings from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — nutrients and algae measured against EPA National Lakes Assessment ecoregion classes. Secchi is shown, not scored. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by the size of the improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.