Clearwater Lake vs Mccormack Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Mccormack Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Clearwater Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Wisconsin.
Clearwater Lake and Mccormack Lake are both in Missouri — 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 meaningfully apart: Mccormack Lake grades a A while Clearwater Lake grades a C. 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 — Mccormack Lake 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?
Clearwater Lake
Very murky, less than 2.3 ft of visibility.
Mccormack Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clearwater Lake | Mccormack Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 2.3 ft | 11.7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 20.3 µg/L | 6 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.9 µg/L | 3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 1.6K acres | 10 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Mccormack Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Clearwater Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 11.7 ft vs 2.3 ft. For fishing diversity, Mccormack Lake also leads with 0 species.