Hatch Lake vs Tuscarora Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Tuscarora Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Hatch Lake (B, Good). Both are in Madison County, Wisconsin.
Hatch Lake and Tuscarora Lake are both in New York — 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: Hatch Lake (B) and Tuscarora 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.
Hatch Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.4 ft.
Tuscarora Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 20.5 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Hatch Lake | Tuscarora Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 13.4 ft | 20.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 134 acres | 362 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Tuscarora Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Hatch Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 20.5 ft vs 13.4 ft. For fishing diversity, Tuscarora Lake also leads with 0 species.