George Lake vs Railroad Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
George Lake and Railroad Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair).
George Lake is in Illinois; Railroad Lake is in Iowa. Cross-state comparisons carry an extra wrinkle — Minnesota PCA and Wisconsin DNR use slightly different sampling cadences and station coverage, though both feed the same EPA Water Quality Portal. The grades are close: George Lake (C) and Railroad Lake (C) 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.
George Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.2 ft.
Railroad Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | George Lake | Railroad Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 4.2 ft | 5.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 22.5 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | 8.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 167 acres | 29 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (George Lake: 4.2 ft, Railroad Lake: 5.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. George Lake matches its peer on species count.