Jordan Pond vs Mcdill Pond
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Jordan Pond and Mcdill Pond both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Portage County, Wisconsin.
Both Jordan Pond and Mcdill Pond sit in Wisconsin. 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. The grades are close: Jordan Pond (C) and Mcdill Pond (C) 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.
Jordan Pond
Murky, only visible to about 4 ft.
Mcdill Pond
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Jordan Pond | Mcdill Pond |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 4 ft | 5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 35.6 µg/L | 34.2 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 83 acres | 261 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Jordan Pond: 4 ft, Mcdill Pond: 5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Jordan Pond matches its peer on species count.