Lake Menomin vs Tainter Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lake Menomin and Tainter Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Dunn County, Wisconsin.
Lake Menomin and Tainter 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 readings are close: Lake Menomin and Tainter Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Lake Menomin
Very murky, less than 3.1 ft of visibility.
Tainter Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Menomin | Tainter Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 3.1 ft | 3.7 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 89.7 µg/L Better | 121.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 34 ft | 37 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,009 acres | 1,605 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 5 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Lake Menomin or Tainter Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lake Menomin: 3.1 ft, Tainter Lake: 3.7 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lake Menomin matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.