Smithville Lake by Dam vs Smithville Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Smithville Lake by Dam and Smithville Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Clay County, Wisconsin.
Both Smithville Lake by Dam and Smithville Lake sit in Missouri. 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 — Smithville Lake by Dam (D) versus Smithville Lake (D). 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.
Smithville Lake by Dam
Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility.
Smithville Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Smithville Lake by Dam | Smithville Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 3.3 ft | 2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 37 µg/L | 48.8 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 25.3 µg/L | 27.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 7.2K acres | 7.2K 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
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Smithville Lake by Dam: 3.3 ft, Smithville Lake: 2 ft) and what you want from the lake. Smithville Lake by Dam matches its peer on species count.