Cottontail Lake vs Jacomo Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Jacomo Lake has a higher water quality grade (C, Fair) than Cottontail Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Jackson County, Wisconsin.
Cottontail Lake and Jacomo 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. Jacomo Lake (C) is materially cleaner than Cottontail Lake (F). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Jacomo 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?
Cottontail Lake
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility.
Jacomo Lake
Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cottontail Lake | Jacomo Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 1.6 ft | 3.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 86.5 µg/L | 20.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 39.4 µg/L | 13.6 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 21 acres | 1.2K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Jacomo Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade C versus Cottontail Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 3.3 ft vs 1.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Jacomo Lake also leads with 0 species.