Houston Lake vs Weatherby Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Weatherby Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Houston Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Platte County, Wisconsin.
Houston Lake and Weatherby Lake are both in Missouri — 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: Weatherby Lake grades a B while Houston 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 — Weatherby 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?
Houston Lake
Very murky, less than 1.1 ft of visibility.
Weatherby Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Houston Lake | Weatherby Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 1.1 ft | 6.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 176 µg/L | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 35.8 µg/L | 5.9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 19 acres | 186 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
Weatherby Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Houston Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 6.2 ft vs 1.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Weatherby Lake also leads with 0 species.