Okauchee Lake vs Pine Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Okauchee Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Pine Lake (B, Good). Both are in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
Okauchee Lake and Pine 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: Okauchee Lake (A) and Pine 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.
Okauchee Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.
Pine Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Okauchee Lake | Pine Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 11.5 ft | 25 ft |
| Phosphorus | 18 µg/L | 12.2 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.9 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 90 ft | 85 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,210 acres | 711 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 | 5 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Okauchee Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Pine Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 25 ft. For fishing diversity, Okauchee Lake also leads with 6 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.