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Crystal Lake Water Quality Trend

Marquette County, Wisconsin · 20192025 · 7 years of data

Crystal Lake water quality has been improving over the 7-year window from 2019–2025, based on EPA Water Quality Portal samples. The lake holds an overall Grade A today.

Water Clarity (Secchi)

Stable
19.5 m10.8 m20192025
20192025+0.27 m/yr

Phosphorus

Improving
13.0 µg/L9.9 µg/L20202025
20202025-0.26 µg/L/yr

Chlorophyll-a

Insufficient data (0 years, need 4+).

How to read this

  • Clarity (Secchi depth): deeper visibility is better. An upward line means the water is getting clearer.
  • Phosphorus & Chlorophyll-a: lower is better. A downward line means fewer nutrients fueling algae growth.
  • Year-to-year variability is normal. Weather, sample timing, and short-window data all add noise. Look at direction, not single-year jumps.

Methodology

Each metric is calculated from EPA Water Quality Portal samples. Annual values are the median of all samples taken that year. The trend direction comes from a linear regression of those annual medians; we classify it as improving, declining, or stable when the change-per-year is below 2% of the long-run mean. The current cache spans roughly 20192025, which is a short window for climate-scale claims. Use this page to spot direction and as a launch point — link out to the EPA WQP for the raw record before citing as evidence.