Prairie Lake vs Rice Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Rice Lake has a higher water quality grade (C, Fair) than Prairie Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Barron County, Wisconsin.
Both Prairie Lake and Rice 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. Rice Lake (C) is materially cleaner than Prairie Lake (F). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Rice Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Prairie Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Rice Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Prairie Lake | Rice Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 4.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 31.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 16 ft | 19 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.4K acres | 859 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Rice Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade C versus Prairie Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 4.1 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Rice Lake also leads with 0 species.