North Lake vs Pine Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
North Lake and Pine Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
Both North Lake and Pine Lake sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — North Lake (B) versus Pine Lake (B). 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.
North Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Pine Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | North Lake | Pine Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 8 ft | 25 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 17.9 µg/L | 12.2 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 78.4 ft | 85 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 440 acres | 711 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 5 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
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 North Lake or Pine Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (North Lake: 8 ft, Pine Lake: 25 ft) and what you want from the lake. North Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.