Green Lake vs Silver Creek Estuary Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Green Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Silver Creek Estuary Lake. Both are in Green Lake County, Wisconsin.
Green Lake and Silver Creek Estuary 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 readings are meaningfully apart: Green Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Silver Creek Estuary Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Green Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Green Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.5 ft.
Silver Creek Estuary Lake
No clarity data.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Green Lake | Silver Creek Estuary Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13.5 ft | No data |
| Phosphorus | 38.1 µg/L Better | 125.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.4 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 236 ft | 236 ft |
| Surface Area | 7,920 acres | 7,920 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 7 | 7 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | hypereutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
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Compare Green Lake or Silver Creek Estuary Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Green Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Silver Creek Estuary Lake. For fishing diversity, Green Lake also leads with 7 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.