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LakeQuality

Fountain Lake vs Marl Lake

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

Fountain Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Marl Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Wisconsin.

Fountain Lake and Marl Lake 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: Fountain Lake (A) and Marl Lake (A) 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.

A

Fountain Lake

Portage County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 22 ft down.

A

Marl Lake

Waupaca County, Wisconsin

Good clarity, visible to about 13.6 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.

MetricFountain LakeMarl Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity22 ft13.6 ft
PhosphorusNo data9.9 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area16 acres22 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateoligotrophicoligotrophic

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 Marl Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 22 ft vs 13.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Fountain Lake also leads with 0 species.