Updated Aug 2026
Arkansas Lake Water Quality
Water quality grades for 137 monitored lakes across 52 counties.
Across Arkansas, 137 lakes carry an active water-quality grade spread over 52 counties. The underlying measurements come from the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality, alongside federal programs and volunteer monitoring networks. A-grade lakes are scarce in Arkansas: about 5% of the dataset. Most lakes here sit in C or D — productive, often shallow, frequently algal in late summer.
Eutrophic conditions dominate — nutrient-loaded, productive, with algal pressure that shows up most years in late summer. These lakes tend to be shallow, agricultural-watershed, and over-warmed by the time July ends. The cleanest county on average is Pulaski (grade A); the most-stressed is Pope. The gap between the top and bottom counties is large enough that "Arkansas lake water quality" hides real local variation.
Grade Distribution
All 137 Arkansas lakes in the index: 81 (59.1%) carry an A–F grade and 56 (40.9%) are not rated, because they lack enough recent nutrient or algae sampling to support a letter.
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Top-Graded Arkansas Lakes
The highest water-quality grades in Arkansas — clarity, depth, and A-F grade at a glance.
Lake Map
Explore Arkansas Lakes
Arkansas reports, fishing & travel
Reservoirs in Arkansas
View all 102 reservoirs →102 of 137 Arkansas lakes (74%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 78 carry a High or Significant hazard rating. The oldest matched dam dates to 1925.
EPA-Impaired Lakes in Arkansas
View all 26 impaired lakes →26 of 137 Arkansas lakes (19%) are officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the most recent EPA ATTAINS reporting cycle. 13 have an approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) restoration plan.
Arkansas Fishing & Recreation
Licenses, regulations, records, and where to fish across Arkansas.
Counties
All 52 Arkansas counties, ranked by average lake water quality. Compare them against every county nationwide in the county rankings, browse the full directory of graded lakes, or pick a different state.
Top 25 Cleanest Lakes
25 lakes25 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABeaver Lake | Carroll | A | 20.3 ft | Oligotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 2 | ALake Maumelle | Pulaski | A | 5.3 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 3 | AGreers Ferry Lake | Cleburne | A | 10 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 4 | ALake Maumelle | Pulaski | A | 9 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 5 | ALake Winona | Saline | A | 7.2 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 6 | ADiamond Lake | Izard | A | No recent samples | Oligotrophic | Not recorded |
| 7 | ALake Mirandy | Sharp | A | No recent samples | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 8 | BLake Georgia-Pacific | Ashley | B | No recent samples | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 9 | CBeaver Lake | Benton | C | 4.6 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 10 | CNorfork Lake | Baxter | C | 12.2 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 11 | CNorfork Lake | Baxter | C | 9.8 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 12 | CGreers Ferry Lake | Cleburne | C | 13.7 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 13 | CBull Shoals Lake | Baxter | C | 16.1 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 14 | CBull Shoals Lake | Boone | C | 10.9 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 15 | CLake Hamilton | Garland | C | 11.9 ft | Eutrophic | Not recorded |
| 16 | CDegray Lake | Clark | C | 9.5 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 17 | CLake Fort Smith | Crawford | C | 6.5 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 18 | CLake Ouachita | Garland | C | 15 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 19 | CLake Ouachita | Garland | C | 13 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 20 | CBeaver Lake | Carroll | C | 19.1 ft | Oligotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 21 | CCrown Lake | Izard | C | No recent samples | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 22 | CDriver Creek Lake | Van Buren | C | No recent samples | Eutrophic | Not recorded |
| 23 | CLake Leatherwood | Carroll | C | No recent samples | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 24 | CLake Austelle | Cross | C | No recent samples | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 25 | CCox Creek Lake | Grant | C | No recent samples | Eutrophic | Not recorded |
25 Lakes Needing Attention
25 lakes25 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FStorm Creek Lake | Phillips | F | No recent samples |
| 2 | FTri County Lake | Calhoun | F | No recent samples |
| 3 | FCrystal Lake | Benton | F | No recent samples |
| 4 | FLake Wallace | Chicot | F | No recent samples |
| 5 | FBear Creek Lake | Lee | F | No recent samples |
| 6 | FLake Pine Bluff Diagonally From North And East Levees | Jefferson | F | No recent samples |
| 7 | FGrand Lake | Chicot | F | No recent samples |
| 8 | FLake Hogue | Poinsett | F | No recent samples |
| 9 | FLake June | Lafayette | F | No recent samples |
| 10 | FBois D Arc Lake | Hempstead | F | No recent samples |
| 11 | FHorseshoe Lake | Crittenden | F | No recent samples |
| 12 | FLake Jack Nolan | Sebastian | F | No recent samples |
| 13 | FLake Conway | Faulkner | F | No recent samples |
| 14 | FHarris Break Lake | Perry | F | No recent samples |
| 15 | FLower Lake Chicot | Chicot | F | No recent samples |
| 16 | FOvercup Lake | Conway | F | No recent samples |
| 17 | FLower Lake Chicot | Chicot | F | No recent samples |
| 18 | FLake Erling | Lafayette | F | No recent samples |
| 19 | FLake Atkins | Pope | F | No recent samples |
| 20 | FLake Fayetteville | Washington | F | No recent samples |
| 21 | FLake Wilson | Ashley | F | No recent samples |
| 22 | FLake Charles | Lawrence | F | No recent samples |
| 23 | FLincoln Lake | Washington | F | No recent samples |
| 24 | FSiloam Springs Lake | Benton | F | No recent samples |
| 25 | FTunica Cutoff Lake | Lee | F | 1.6 ft |
Lake Match
Which lake suits how you actually use one?
Six questions — swimming, fishing, quiet, cabins, drive time — and a shortlist of graded lakes that fit, with the water quality behind each one.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys and the EPA Water Quality Portal.
More on lake water quality
The top-graded lake in every state we cover, picked grade-first with water clarity as the tie-breaker — plus the states whose winner is still not clean.
State-by-state Secchi champions: the clearest measured lake in each U.S. state we grade, which is not the same as the cleanest nutrient grade.
A data snapshot of the lakes we grade: how the A–F distribution breaks down, the clearest and the greenest states, and where the water is improving.
How lakes are graded A–F on nutrients and algae using EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each letter means in the water, and why an A is not a clearance.