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LakeQuality

Lake Belva Deer vs White Oak Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Lake Belva Deer and White Oak Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.

Lake Belva Deer and White Oak Lake are both in Iowa — 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Lake Belva Deer (F) versus White Oak Lake (F). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.

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.

F

Lake Belva Deer

Keokuk County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 2.1 ft of visibility.

F

White Oak Lake

Mahaska County, Wisconsin

Very murky, less than 1.4 ft of visibility.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricLake Belva DeerWhite Oak Lake
Overall GradeF (Very Poor)F (Very Poor)
Water Clarity2.1 ft1.4 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)40.3 µg/L68.7 µg/L
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area247 acres20 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateeutrophichypereutrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lake Belva Deer: 2.1 ft, White Oak Lake: 1.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lake Belva Deer matches its peer on species count.