Elmwood Lake vs Forest Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Forest Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Elmwood Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.
Both Elmwood Lake and Forest Lake sit in Missouri. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are meaningfully apart: Forest Lake grades a B while Elmwood Lake grades a F. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Forest 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?
Elmwood Lake
Very murky, less than 2.7 ft of visibility.
Forest Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Elmwood Lake | Forest Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 2.7 ft | 4.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 70.8 µg/L | 18 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 35.2 µg/L | 4.8 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 224 acres | 646 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Forest Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Elmwood Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 4.1 ft vs 2.7 ft. For fishing diversity, Forest Lake also leads with 0 species.