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LakeQuality

Blackwater Lake vs Wabedo Lake

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

Blackwater Lake and Wabedo Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.

Both Blackwater Lake and Wabedo Lake sit in Minnesota. 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Blackwater Lake (A) versus Wabedo Lake (A). 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.

A

Blackwater Lake

Cass County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.

A

Wabedo Lake

Cass County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 10 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.

MetricBlackwater LakeWabedo Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity14.1 ft10 ft
Phosphorus11 µg/L16 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth67 ft95 ft
Surface Area771.45 acres1.2K acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Stateoligotrophicmesotrophic

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

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Blackwater Lake: 14.1 ft, Wabedo Lake: 10 ft) and what you want from the lake. Blackwater Lake matches its peer on species count.