Ocheda Lake vs Okabena Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ocheda Lake and Okabena Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Nobles County, Minnesota.
Ocheda Lake and Okabena Lake are both in Minnesota — 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Ocheda Lake (F) versus Okabena Lake (F). 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.
Ocheda Lake
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility.
Okabena Lake
Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Ocheda Lake | Okabena Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1.6 ft | 3.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 265 µg/L | 166.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 5 ft | 16 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.7K acres | 776.05 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Ocheda Lake: 1.6 ft, Okabena Lake: 3.3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Ocheda Lake matches its peer on species count.