Centerville Lake vs George Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
George Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Centerville Lake. Both are in Anoka County, Minnesota.
Both Centerville Lake and George 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 meaningfully apart: George Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Centerville Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: George Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Centerville Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft.
George Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.3 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Centerville Lake | George Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 3.9 ft | 7.3 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 78 µg/L | 22 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 46.3 µg/L | 8.3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 19 ft | 32 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 474 acres | 489 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 Better | 12 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
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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Compare Centerville Lake or George Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
George Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Centerville Lake. Water clarity: 7.3 ft vs 3.9 ft. For more fish-species variety, Centerville Lake edges ahead with 14 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.