Beaver Dam Lake vs Prairie Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Beaver Dam Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Prairie Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Barron County, Wisconsin.
Both Beaver Dam Lake and Prairie Lake sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are meaningfully apart: Beaver Dam Lake grades a A while Prairie Lake grades a F. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Beaver Dam Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Beaver Dam Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Prairie Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Beaver Dam Lake | Prairie Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 11 ft | 2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 13 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 106 ft | 16 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.2K acres | 1.4K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Beaver Dam Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Prairie Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Beaver Dam Lake also leads with 0 species.