Browns Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Browns Lake pulls an A: clarity at 15.9 ft and 17 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Browns Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. Browns Lake reaches 44 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. The lake's 397 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Within Racine County's 7 graded waters, Browns Lake sits at rank 1, near the top of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Browns Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Browns Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Browns Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.