Harrison County Lake vs Nine Eagles Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Nine Eagles Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Harrison County Lake (F, Very Poor).
Harrison County Lake is in Missouri; Nine Eagles 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 meaningfully apart: Nine Eagles Lake grades a A while Harrison County 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 — Nine Eagles 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?
Harrison County Lake
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility.
Nine Eagles Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Harrison County Lake | Nine Eagles Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 1.5 ft | 11 ft |
| Phosphorus | 70 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 134.4 µg/L | 3.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 292 acres | 59 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Nine Eagles Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Harrison County Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 1.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Nine Eagles Lake also leads with 0 species.