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LakeQuality

Eau Claire Lake vs Lake Wissota

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

Lake Wissota has a higher water quality grade (D, Poor) than Eau Claire Lake (D, Poor). 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 grades are close: Eau Claire Lake (D) and Lake Wissota (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.

D

Eau Claire Lake

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 2.8 ft of visibility.

D

Lake Wissota

Chippewa County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 3.5 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.

MetricEau Claire LakeLake Wissota
Overall GradeD (Poor)D (Poor)
Water Clarity2.8 ft3.5 ft
Phosphorus88 µg/L76.4 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth25 ft64.4 ft
Surface Area870 acres6.1K acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateeutrophiceutrophic

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

Verdict

Lake Wissota wins on overall water quality with a Grade D versus Eau Claire Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 3.5 ft vs 2.8 ft. For fishing diversity, Lake Wissota also leads with 0 species.