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LakeQuality

Crawford Creek Lake vs Moorehead Lake

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

Moorehead Lake has a higher water quality grade (D, Poor) than Crawford Creek Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Ida County, Wisconsin.

Crawford Creek Lake and Moorehead Lake are both in Iowa — 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 close: Crawford Creek Lake (F) and Moorehead Lake (D) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.

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

Crawford Creek Lake

Ida County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility.

D

Moorehead Lake

Ida County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 3.7 ft.

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.

MetricCrawford Creek LakeMoorehead Lake
Overall GradeF (Very Poor)D (Poor)
Water Clarity1.6 ft3.7 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)50.4 µg/L20.7 µg/L
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area63 acres10.9 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateeutrophiceutrophic

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

Verdict

Moorehead Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade D versus Crawford Creek Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 3.7 ft vs 1.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Moorehead Lake also leads with 0 species.