1
CKanopolis Lake
Ellsworth County, Kansas · 19.2 mi from Mcpherson Wetlands Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → C)
- ++2.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (52.5 vs 1550 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Mcpherson Wetlands Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Mcpherson Wetlands Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Kanopolis Lake (Ellsworth County, Grade C, 19.2 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
2
CNla Lake
Rice County, Kansas · 28.1 mi from Mcpherson Wetlands Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → C)
- ++1.7 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (49.4 vs 1550 µg/L)
3
DMingenback Lake
McPherson County, Kansas · 5.7 mi from Mcpherson Wetlands Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- +Lower phosphorus (800 vs 1550 µg/L)
4
DBlack Kettle State Fishing Lake
McPherson County, Kansas · 17.6 mi from Mcpherson Wetlands Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- +Lower phosphorus (520 vs 1550 µg/L)
5
DHarvey Co West Park Lake
Harvey County, Kansas · 24.4 mi from Mcpherson Wetlands Lake
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (55.1 vs 1550 µg/L)
Reading the cohort
5 cleaner lakes sit within 30 miles of Mcpherson Wetlands Lake in the EPA water-quality dataset. With that many higher-grade neighbors close by, Mcpherson Wetlands Lake's Grade F reflects something specific to the lake itself — not a regional water-quality ceiling. The neighbor list below isn't a small set of marginal upgrades; it's a real cohort of meaningfully cleaner choices for the same Kansas weekend.
The nearest cleaner alternative — Kanopolis Lake in Ellsworth County — sits 19.2 miles from Mcpherson Wetlands Lake, putting it firmly in "destination trip" rather than "neighborhood swap" range. The water-quality gap has to be the deciding factor; for a casual outing, Mcpherson Wetlands Lake is the practical choice and the cleaner options are reserved for purpose-specific visits.
The EPA water-quality grading combines clarity (Secchi depth), phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measurements from state environmental sampling. A higher letter grade reflects measurably cleaner water on those indicators, not subjective beauty or access quality — a Grade A lake might have worse boat-launch facilities or shoreline access than a Grade C neighbor, so the ranking is one input alongside the rest of trip planning. See the methodology page for the full grading formula.
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.