Machickanee Flowage Lake vs White Potato Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
White Potato Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Machickanee Flowage Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Oconto County, Wisconsin.
Machickanee Flowage Lake and White Potato 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 close: Machickanee Flowage Lake (C) and White Potato Lake (B) 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.
Machickanee Flowage Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
White Potato Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Machickanee Flowage Lake | White Potato Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 3 ft | 6.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 33.4 µg/L | 17 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 21 ft | 11 ft |
| Surface Area | 436 acres | 1,023 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 5 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
White Potato Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Machickanee Flowage Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 6.5 ft vs 3 ft. For fishing diversity, White Potato Lake also leads with 5 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.