Fountain Lake vs Jordan Pond
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Fountain Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Jordan Pond (C, Fair). Both are in Portage County, Wisconsin.
Fountain Lake and Jordan Pond 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 meaningfully apart: Fountain Lake grades a A while Jordan Pond grades a C. 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 — Fountain 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?
Fountain Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 22 ft down.
Jordan Pond
Murky, only visible to about 4 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Fountain Lake | Jordan Pond |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 22 ft | 4 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 35.6 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 16 acres | 83 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Fountain Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Jordan Pond's Grade C. Water clarity: 22 ft vs 4 ft. For fishing diversity, Fountain Lake also leads with 0 species.