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LakeQuality

Black Hawk Lake vs Swan Lake Max Depth

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

Black Hawk Lake and Swan Lake Max Depth both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.

Black Hawk Lake and Swan Lake Max Depth 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 — Black Hawk Lake (F) versus Swan Lake Max Depth (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

Black Hawk Lake

Sac County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 0.9 ft of visibility.

F

Swan Lake Max Depth

Carroll County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 1.4 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.

MetricBlack Hawk LakeSwan Lake Max Depth
Overall GradeF (Very Poor)F (Very Poor)
Water Clarity0.9 ft1.4 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)54.1 µg/L74 µg/L
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area920 acres130 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Statehypereutrophichypereutrophic

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 (Black Hawk Lake: 0.9 ft, Swan Lake Max Depth: 1.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Black Hawk Lake matches its peer on species count.