Buffalo Lake vs Lake Puckaway
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lake Puckaway has a higher water quality grade (C, Fair) than Buffalo Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.
Both Buffalo Lake and Lake Puckaway sit in Wisconsin. 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 Puckaway grades a C while Buffalo Lake grades a F. 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 Puckaway 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?
Buffalo Lake
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility.
Lake Puckaway
Murky, only visible to about 4.4 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Buffalo Lake | Lake Puckaway |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 2.5 ft | 4.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 125.5 µg/L | 52.1 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 8 ft | 5 ft |
| Surface Area | 2.2K acres | 5.0K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Lake Puckaway wins on overall water quality with a Grade C versus Buffalo Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 4.4 ft vs 2.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Lake Puckaway also leads with 0 species.