Silver Creek Estuary Lake

Silver Creek Estuary Lake grades an F: every scored parameter (phosphorus) rates poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Wisconsin.

A TSI above 70 puts Silver Creek Estuary Lake in hypereutrophic territory: visible blooms are common, and clarity rarely climbs even in early summer. At 236 ft of maximum depth, Silver Creek Estuary Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Silver Creek Estuary Lake covers 7,920 acres alongside partial shoreline records, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Within the 13 graded lakes of Green Lake County, Silver Creek Estuary Lake sits at rank 12, near the bottom of the county list.

Zebra mussels have been documented at Silver Creek Estuary Lake, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 7 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.