Eagle Lake vs Orwell Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Eagle Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Orwell Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Eagle Lake and Orwell Lake are both in Minnesota — 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. Eagle Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Orwell Lake (C). 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 — Eagle 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?
Eagle Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 22.6 ft down.
Orwell Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Eagle Lake | Orwell Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 22.6 ft | 4.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 5 µg/L | 54 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft | 25 ft |
| Surface Area | 907.4 acres | 607.58 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 17 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Eagle Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Orwell Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 22.6 ft vs 4.1 ft. For more fish-species variety, Orwell Lake edges ahead with 17 documented species.