Free Peoples Lake vs Juanita Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Free Peoples Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Juanita Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in North Dakota.
Free Peoples Lake and Juanita Lake are both in North Dakota — 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: Free Peoples Lake grades a A while Juanita 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 — Free Peoples 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?
Free Peoples Lake
No clarity data.
Juanita Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Free Peoples Lake | Juanita Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | No data | 1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 18.7 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | 154.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 54 ft | 9.9 ft |
| Surface Area | 543.6 acres | 732.7 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 4 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | hypereutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Free Peoples Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Juanita Lake's Grade F. For more fish-species variety, Juanita Lake edges ahead with 4 documented species.