Eau Claire Lake vs Lake Wissota
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Eau Claire Lake and Lake Wissota read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Wisconsin.
Eau Claire Lake and Lake Wissota are both in Wisconsin — 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 readings are close: Eau Claire Lake and Lake Wissota sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Eau Claire Lake
Very murky, less than 2.8 ft of visibility.
Lake Wissota
Murky, only visible to about 3.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Eau Claire Lake | Lake Wissota |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2.8 ft | 3.5 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 88 µg/L | 76.4 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 25 ft | 64.4 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 870 acres | 6,148 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 8 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Eau Claire Lake or Lake Wissota against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Eau Claire Lake: 2.8 ft, Lake Wissota: 3.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Eau Claire Lake has fewer fish species than Lake Wissota.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.