Belcher Branch Lake vs Pony Express Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pony Express Lake has a higher water quality grade (D, Poor) than Belcher Branch Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.
Belcher Branch Lake and Pony Express Lake are both in Missouri — 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. The grades are close: Belcher Branch Lake (D) and Pony Express Lake (D) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Belcher Branch Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Pony Express Lake
Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Belcher Branch Lake | Pony Express Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1 ft | 1.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 44 µg/L | 53.2 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 44.9 µg/L | 26.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 46 acres | 164 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Pony Express Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade D versus Belcher Branch Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 1.3 ft vs 1 ft. For fishing diversity, Pony Express Lake also leads with 0 species.