Lake Beulah vs Rice Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lake Beulah has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Rice Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Walworth County, Wisconsin.
Lake Beulah and Rice Lake are both in Wisconsin — 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: Lake Beulah grades a A while Rice Lake grades a D. 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 — Lake Beulah 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?
Lake Beulah
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Rice Lake
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Beulah | Rice Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 11 ft | 1.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 13 µg/L | 57.2 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 834 acres | 137 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Lake Beulah wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Rice Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 1.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Lake Beulah also leads with 0 species.