Pool of Lake St. Croix vs St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pool of Lake St. Croix and St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Washington County, Minnesota.
Both Pool of Lake St. Croix and St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake sit in Minnesota. 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. The grades are close: Pool of Lake St. Croix (C) and St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake (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.
Pool of Lake St. Croix
Murky, only visible to about 4.3 ft.
St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pool of Lake St. Croix | St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 4.3 ft | 6.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 39.2 µg/L | 34 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 78 ft | 78 ft |
| Surface Area | 8.4K acres | 8.4K acres |
| Public Access | No | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Pool of Lake St. Croix: 4.3 ft, St. Croix 0.3 Mi. Downstream of I Lake: 6.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Pool of Lake St. Croix matches its peer on species count.