Jefferson Lake vs Washington Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Washington Lake has a higher water quality grade (F, Very Poor) than Jefferson Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Jefferson Lake and Washington Lake are both in Minnesota — 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: Jefferson Lake (F) and Washington Lake (F) 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.
Jefferson Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Washington Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Jefferson Lake | Washington Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 4.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 90 µg/L | 121 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | 48.1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | 51 ft |
| Surface Area | 700 acres | 1.5K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 1 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Washington Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade F versus Jefferson Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 4.5 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Washington Lake also leads with 1 species.