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LakeQuality

Clausen Springs Lake vs Lake Ashtabula

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

Lake Ashtabula has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Clausen Springs Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Barnes County, Wisconsin.

Clausen Springs Lake and Lake Ashtabula are both in North Dakota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The grades are close: Clausen Springs Lake (C) and Lake Ashtabula (B) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.

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.

C

Clausen Springs Lake

Barnes County, Wisconsin

No clarity data.

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.

MetricClausen Springs LakeLake Ashtabula
Overall GradeC (Fair)B (Good)
Water ClarityNo data6.6 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)12.6 µg/L4 µg/L
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area42.7 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 Clausen Springs Lake's Grade C. For fishing diversity, Lake Ashtabula also leads with 0 species.