Cole Lake vs Sunnen Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Cole Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Sunnen Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.
Cole Lake and Sunnen 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: Cole Lake grades a B while Sunnen Lake grades a D. 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 — Cole 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?
Cole Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18.5 ft down.
Sunnen Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cole Lake | Sunnen Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 18.5 ft | 1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 17 µg/L | 61 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 16.5 µg/L | 14.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 42 acres | 198 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Cole Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Sunnen Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 18.5 ft vs 1 ft. For fishing diversity, Cole Lake also leads with 0 species.