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LakeQuality

Badger Creek Max Depth Lake vs Fort des Moines Park Pond

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Badger Creek Max Depth Lake and Fort des Moines Park Pond both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.

Badger Creek Max Depth Lake and Fort des Moines Park Pond are both in Iowa — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Badger Creek Max Depth Lake (F) versus Fort des Moines Park Pond (F). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.

With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.

F

Badger Creek Max Depth Lake

Madison County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility.

F

Fort des Moines Park Pond

Polk County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 2.8 ft of visibility.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricBadger Creek Max Depth LakeFort des Moines Park Pond
Overall GradeF (Very Poor)F (Very Poor)
Water Clarity1.6 ft2.8 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)77.7 µg/L32.6 µg/L
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area276 acres11.6 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Statehypereutrophiceutrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Badger Creek Max Depth Lake: 1.6 ft, Fort des Moines Park Pond: 2.8 ft) and what you want from the lake. Badger Creek Max Depth Lake matches its peer on species count.