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LakeQuality

Lake St. Croix vs Pool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge

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

Lake St. Croix has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Pool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge (C, Fair).

This comparison crosses state lines: Lake St. Croix in Wisconsin versus Pool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge in Minnesota. The LakeGrade rubric is uniform across both, but the underlying monitoring programs differ in subtle ways worth noting. The grades are close: Lake St. Croix (B) and Pool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge (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.

B

Lake St. Croix

St. Croix County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 5.6 ft.

Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.

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 St. CroixPool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge
Overall GradeB (Good)C (Fair)
Water Clarity5.6 ft5 ft
Phosphorus16.5 µg/L39.5 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth60 ft78 ft
Surface Area7.7K acres8.4K acres
Public AccessUnknownNo
Fish Species01
Trophic Statemesotrophiceutrophic

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

Verdict

Lake St. Croix wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Pool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge's Grade C. Water clarity: 5.6 ft vs 5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Pool on Lake St. Croix Downstream of I94 Bridge edges ahead with 1 documented species.