Whitewater Lake

Whitewater Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Wisconsin lake of its size and depth. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 35 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 625 acres, Whitewater Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Whitewater Lake sits at rank 19 of 34 in Walworth County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Whitewater Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Whitewater Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Whitewater 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.