Sarah Lake vs Shetek Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Sarah Lake has a higher water quality grade (C, Fair) than Shetek Lake (F, Algae-prone). Both are in Murray County, Minnesota.
Sarah Lake and Shetek Lake are both in Minnesota — 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. Sarah Lake (C) is materially cleaner than Shetek 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 — Sarah 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?
Sarah Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft.
Shetek Lake
Very murky, less than 1.1 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Sarah Lake | Shetek Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) Better | F (Algae-prone) |
| Water Clarity | 3.9 ft Better | 1.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 59 µg/L Better | 102 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.1 µg/L Better | 31.1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 10 ft | 10 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,209 acres | 3,462 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 17 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Verdict
Sarah Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade C versus Shetek Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 3.9 ft vs 1.1 ft. For more fish-species variety, Shetek Lake edges ahead with 17 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.