What are Wisconsin's Clearest Lakes?

What are the clearest lakes in Wisconsin?  Every year, I consult with Wisconsin's state-wide citizen's lake monitoring group. They're a network of individuals, usually lake-front property owners who monitor and regularly take a variety of water samples from lakes all across Wisconsin.  The data they compile helps to give us a look at how our lakes are doing. One of the many tasks lake monitors perform is to take regular sechi disc readings. This is a universal way of assessing and comparing water clarity.  I'm always interested in knowing which Wisconsin inland lakes are the clearest.  Here are the lakes that recorded the highest average water clarity in 2018. In short-here are Wisconsin's clearest inland lakes and their average water clarity in 2018:

1)   Lake Wazee, Jackson Co. 30.3 feet
2)   Whitefish Lake, Douglas Co.  27 feet
3)   Smoky Lake, Vilas Co. 26.7 feet
4)   Paya Lake, Oconto Co. 26.6 feet
5)   Black Oak Lake, Vilas Co. 26.5 feet
6)   Pine Lake, Waukesha Co. 25.5 feet
7)   Lake Metonga, Forest Co. 25.5 feet
8)   Presque Isle Lake, Vilas Co. 25 feet
9)   Mildred Lake, Oneida Co. 24.3 feet
10) Blue Lake, Oneida Co. 23.25 feet

To See the lake list from 2017, click here. To see the lake list from 2016, click here.To see the lake list from 2015, click here.  To see the lake list from 2014, click here.  For the lake list from 2013, click here.  And for the 2012 list of clear lakes, click here.

What are the Clearest Lakes in Wisconsin? 2012

I was talking to Jennifer Filbert at the Wisconsin DNR the other day.  Jennifer manages the data for the state-wide citizen's lake monitoring group.  They're a network of individuals, usually lake-front property owners who monitor and regularly take a variety of water samples from lakes all across Wisconsin.  The data they compile helps to give us a look at how our lakes are doing. One of the many tasks lake monitors perform is to take regular sechi disc readings.  This is a universal way of assessing and comparing water clarity.  I was interested to know which Wisconsin inland lakes were the clearest.  Jennifer sent me a spreadsheet of some really comprehensive data and I thought it would be interesting to pass this along.  Here are the lakes that recorded the highest average water clarity in 2012.  In short-here are Wisconsin's clearest lakes and their average water clarity in 2012:

1) Black Oak Lake-Vilas Co.-35 feet
2) Wazee Lake-Jackson Co.-30 feet
3) Keyes Lake-Florence Co.-27 feet
4) Maiden Lake-Oconto Co.-27 feet
5) Lake Owen-Bayfield Co.-25 feet
6) Stormy Lake-Vilas Co.-25 feet
7) Blue Lake-Oneida Co.-24 feet
8) Presque Isle Lake-Vilas Co-24 feet
9) Mildred Lake-Oneida Co.-23 feet
10) Boot Lake-Oconto Co.-22 feet
11) Lake Lucerne-Forest Co.-22 feet
12) Whitefish Lake-Douglas Co.-22 feet
13) Deer Lake-Polk Co.-22 feet
14) Pike Lake Chain-Bayfield Co.-21 feet
15) Sand Lake-Burnett Co.-21 feet

(Note: To see an updated list of 2013, click here.)