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LakeQuality

Brewer Lake vs Lake Ashtabula

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

Lake Ashtabula has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Brewer Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.

Both Brewer Lake and Lake Ashtabula sit in North Dakota. 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: Lake Ashtabula grades a B while Brewer Lake grades a D. 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 — Lake Ashtabula 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?

D

Brewer Lake

Cass County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 4.3 ft.

B

Lake Ashtabula

Barnes County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 6.6 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.

MetricBrewer LakeLake Ashtabula
Overall GradeD (Poor)B (Good)
Water Clarity4.3 ft6.6 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)31.1 µg/L4 µg/L
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area130 acres5.5K acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateeutrophicmesotrophic

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

Verdict

Lake Ashtabula wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Brewer Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 6.6 ft vs 4.3 ft. For fishing diversity, Lake Ashtabula also leads with 0 species.