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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.

Both Saint Croix Flowage Lake and Whitefish 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Saint Croix Flowage Lake (B) versus Whitefish Lake (A). 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.

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 25.3 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 ft25.3 ft
Phosphorus23.8 µg/L9.4 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: 25.3 ft vs 10.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Whitefish Lake also leads with 0 species.