Jamestown Reservoir vs Spiritwood Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Spiritwood Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Jamestown Reservoir (D, Poor). Both are in Stutsman County, North Dakota.
Both Jamestown Reservoir and Spiritwood Lake sit in North Dakota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. Spiritwood Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Jamestown Reservoir (D). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Spiritwood 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?
Jamestown Reservoir
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft.
Spiritwood Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 31 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Jamestown Reservoir | Spiritwood Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 6 ft | 31 ft |
| Phosphorus | 560.5 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 17.6 µg/L | 5.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 36.2 ft | 54.7 ft |
| Surface Area | 17.4K acres | 493.3 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 9 | 5 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Spiritwood Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Jamestown Reservoir's Grade D. Water clarity: 31 ft vs 6 ft. For more fish-species variety, Jamestown Reservoir edges ahead with 9 documented species.