Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site vs Half Moon Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Half Moon Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site. Both are in Polk County, Wisconsin.
Both Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site and Half Moon Lake sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are meaningfully apart: Half Moon Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Half Moon Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site
Murky, only visible to about 5.7 ft.
Half Moon Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15.3 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site | Half Moon Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.7 ft | 15.3 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 42.7 µg/L | 13.9 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 37 ft | 60 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,901 acres | 550 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 4 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | oligotrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site or Half Moon Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Half Moon Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Balsam Lake Little Balsam Site. Water clarity: 15.3 ft vs 5.7 ft. For fishing diversity, Half Moon Lake also leads with 4 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.