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LakeQuality

Black Hawk Lake vs Cruson Slough Lake

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

Black Hawk Lake and Cruson Slough Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Wisconsin.

Black Hawk Lake and Cruson Slough Lake are both in Wisconsin — 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 — Black Hawk Lake (B) versus Cruson Slough Lake (B). 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.

B

Black Hawk Lake

Iowa County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.

B

Cruson Slough Lake

Richland County, Wisconsin

Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.6 ft.

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.

MetricBlack Hawk LakeCruson Slough Lake
Overall GradeB (Good)B (Good)
Water Clarity5 ft7.6 ft
Phosphorus19.9 µg/L28.9 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area220 acres80 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateeutrophiceutrophic

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

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Black Hawk Lake: 5 ft, Cruson Slough Lake: 7.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Black Hawk Lake matches its peer on species count.