Clearwater Lake vs Ripley County Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ripley County Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Clearwater Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Wisconsin.
Both Clearwater Lake and Ripley County Lake sit in Missouri. 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Clearwater Lake (C) versus Ripley County Lake (B). 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.
Clearwater Lake
Very murky, less than 1.8 ft of visibility.
Ripley County Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clearwater Lake | Ripley County Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 1.8 ft | 6.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 31.3 µg/L | 11 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.8 µg/L | 2.6 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 1.6K acres | 20 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Ripley County Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Clearwater Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 6.6 ft vs 1.8 ft. For fishing diversity, Ripley County Lake also leads with 0 species.