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Cleaner Lakes Than Shepard Mountain Lake Intake

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

Shepard Mountain Lake Intake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Lake Capri (St. Francois County, Grade A, 21.2 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
1
A

Lake Capri

St. Francois County, Missouri · 21.2 mi from Shepard Mountain Lake Intake
  • +Two grade letters higher (D → A)
  • ++13.5 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (5.7 vs 37 µg/L)
2
A

Council Bluff Lake

Iron County, Missouri · 16.7 mi from Shepard Mountain Lake Intake
  • +Two grade letters higher (D → A)
  • ++10.3 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (5.3 vs 37 µg/L)
3
A

Lake Marseilles-Terre du Lac Lakes

St. Francois County, Missouri · 21.1 mi from Shepard Mountain Lake Intake
  • +Two grade letters higher (D → A)
  • ++11.3 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (7.4 vs 37 µg/L)
4
A

Lake Shayne-Terre du Lac Lakes

Washington County, Missouri · 21.2 mi from Shepard Mountain Lake Intake
  • +Two grade letters higher (D → A)
  • ++8.3 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (5 vs 37 µg/L)
5
A

Timberline Lakes

St. Francois County, Missouri · 28.4 mi from Shepard Mountain Lake Intake
  • +Two grade letters higher (D → A)
  • ++11.5 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (5.5 vs 37 µg/L)

Reading the cohort

Within 30 miles of Shepard Mountain Lake Intake, 5 water bodies score higher than its Grade D on the same EPA water-quality metrics. That density of cleaner options is itself a signal — when several nearby lakes score better on the same indicators, the issues at Shepard Mountain Lake Intake 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 nearest cleaner alternative — Lake Capri in St. Francois County — sits 21.2 miles from Shepard Mountain Lake Intake, 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, Shepard Mountain Lake Intake 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.

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