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LakeQuality

Clear Lake vs Tetonka Lake

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

Clear Lake and Tetonka Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Minnesota.

Clear Lake and Tetonka Lake are both in Minnesota — 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Clear Lake (F) versus Tetonka Lake (F). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.

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.

F

Clear Lake

Waseca County, Minnesota

Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility.

F

Tetonka Lake

Le Sueur County, Minnesota

Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.

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.

MetricClear LakeTetonka Lake
Overall GradeF (Very Poor)F (Very Poor)
Water Clarity2.5 ft3 ft
Phosphorus151 µg/L363 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth34 ft35 ft
Surface Area648.77 acres1.4K acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Statehypereutrophichypereutrophic

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

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Clear Lake: 2.5 ft, Tetonka Lake: 3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Clear Lake matches its peer on species count.