how does one classify water color? i have heard stained and well clear but what are the levels?

I would put it on a scale.

1= crystal clear 16+visibility

2- clear- 7-12 visibility

3- stained- fairly clear but off color

4- dingy- 3-6'

5- muddy- about 1-2

6. Wylie in March after a good rain- looks like red clay mud, no visibility whatsoever.

I think water quality is regionally defined.  Three feet of visibility is considered fairly clear on the lakes I fish.  I've seen Truman lake so muddy on the Grand river arm, that you couldn't see a lure beyond 4 inches.  Two feet of visibility to me is stained, but not muddy.  One foot is heavily stained or mildly muddy, take your pick.  

i fish lone star often and it seems that you can only see down like 3 maybe 4 feet and it has never been much clearer than that...  :-?

Ok here 's the situation, one thing is COLOR and a completely different thing is TURBIDITY ( Visibility ), color indicates that there are DISSOLVED COMPOUNDS in the water, while turbidity indicates there are SUSPENDED PARTICLES in the water.

Water can have no suspended particles ( low turbidity ) and have a lot of dissolved dyes in it like organic acids making the water look anywhere from yellowish to dark brown ( like coffee ).