Smithville Lake vs Smithville Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Smithville Lake and Smithville Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Clay County, Missouri.
Smithville Lake and Smithville Lake are both in Missouri — 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Smithville Lake (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
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Smithville Lake
Very murky, less than 2.6 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Smithville Lake | Smithville Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 2.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 48.8 µg/L | 34 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 27.2 µg/L | 27.6 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 7,190 acres | 7,190 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| 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: 2 ft, Smithville Lake: 2.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Smithville Lake matches its peer on species count.