Broadwater Bay Lake vs Girl Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Girl Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Broadwater Bay Lake. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Both Broadwater Bay Lake and Girl Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Broadwater Bay Lake and Girl Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Broadwater Bay Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.4 ft.
Girl Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.6 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Broadwater Bay Lake | Girl Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 14.4 ft | 17.6 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 13.5 µg/L | 12 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.6 µg/L | 2.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 54 ft | 81 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 5,520 acres | 428 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 22 Better | 18 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
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Verdict
Broadwater Bay Lake and Girl Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Broadwater Bay Lake: 14.4 ft, Girl Lake: 17.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Broadwater Bay Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Where to stay near Broadwater Bay Lake and Girl Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.