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LakeQuality

Saint Croix Flowage Lake vs Whitefish Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Whitefish Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Saint Croix Flowage Lake (B, Good). Both are in Douglas County, Wisconsin.

Saint Croix Flowage Lake and Whitefish 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: Saint Croix Flowage Lake (B) and Whitefish Lake (A) 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.

B

Saint Croix Flowage Lake

Douglas County, Wisconsin

Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft.

A

Whitefish Lake

Douglas County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 24.5 ft down.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricSaint Croix Flowage LakeWhitefish Lake
Overall GradeB (Good)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity10.5 ft24.5 ft
Phosphorus23.8 µg/L11.4 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth-102 ft
Surface Area1.9K acres848 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Statemesotrophicoligotrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Whitefish Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Saint Croix Flowage Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 24.5 ft vs 10.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Whitefish Lake also leads with 0 species.