Georgia's Cleanest Lake: Lake Worth (Dougherty County)

The single cleanest lake in Georgia is Lake Worth (Dougherty County, GA), ranked first on its measured clarity and nutrients in the 2026 sampling record. Cleanliness here is measured by Secchi depth (clarity), total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — all sourced from EPA Water Quality Portal and state agency sampling, shown as reported. The full top 25 ranked list appears below.

The "cleanest" ranking on LakeQuality is built from the measured nutrients and algae — phosphorus and chlorophyll-a read against EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 ecoregion classes. Secchi clarity is shown and used only as a tiebreak. The cleanest Georgia lake on the current data is Lake Worth (Dougherty County, GA).

The top of the cleanest-lakes list is dominated by deep, glacial, cold-water basins — the same basins that carry the lowest nutrient readings overall. The pattern is not coincidence: depth and watershed land-use are the dominant inputs to water-clarity and nutrient-loading both.

Rank	Lake	County	Clarity	Phosphorus	Chlorophyll-a	Area
1	Lake Worth (Dougherty County, GA)	Dougherty	3.7 ft	46.9 µg/L	5 µg/L	1,400 acres
2	Flint River Reservoir	Dougherty	4.3 ft	30 µg/L	4.8 µg/L	1,400 acres
3	Harl Lake	Harris	6.1 ft	13 µg/L	5.1 µg/L	5,850 acres
4	Lake Blackshear	Crisp	3.9 ft	30.5 µg/L	12.5 µg/L	8,700 acres
5	Geoh Lake	Stewart	3.7 ft	31.5 µg/L	11.7 µg/L	-
6	Banks Lake	Lanier	3.2 ft	30 µg/L	7.6 µg/L	700 acres
7	Wesc Lake	Troup	6 ft	12 µg/L	10.7 µg/L	-
8	Lake Oconee	Greene	5.6 ft	20 µg/L	12.9 µg/L	-
9	Lake Blue Ridge	Fannin	9.5 ft	20 µg/L	3.8 µg/L	3,220 acres
10	Lake Tobesofkee	Bibb	4.7 ft	30 µg/L	13 µg/L	1,756 acres
11	Lake Sidney Lanier	Forsyth	9.2 ft	20 µg/L	7.7 µg/L	-
12	Goat Rock Lake	Harris	5.2 ft	20 µg/L	5.8 µg/L	960 acres
13	West Point Lake	Troup	7.2 ft	20 µg/L	11 µg/L	25,864 acres
14	Lake Oliver	Muscogee	6.1 ft	20 µg/L	6.8 µg/L	2,280 acres
15	Lake Juliette	Monroe	8.5 ft	20 µg/L	4.2 µg/L	3,600 acres
16	Lake Sinclair	Baldwin	4.9 ft	25 µg/L	12 µg/L	15,330 acres
17	Carters Lake	Gilmer	8.1 ft	20 µg/L	8.4 µg/L	3,275 acres
18	Lake Harding	Harris	6 ft	20 µg/L	5 µg/L	5,850 acres
19	Lake Nottely	Union	8.9 ft	20 µg/L	6.9 µg/L	3,970 acres
20	Lake Lanier Upstream From Flowery Branch Confluence	Hall	13 ft	20 µg/L	6.2 µg/L	-
21	Lake Walter F. George	Quitman	4.1 ft	34.1 µg/L	18 µg/L	-
22	Lake Burton	Rabun	12.5 ft	20 µg/L	3.4 µg/L	2,775 acres
23	Lake Rabun	Rabun	10.9 ft	20 µg/L	3.7 µg/L	-
24	Clarks Hill Lake	Columbia	7.9 ft	20 µg/L	5.8 µg/L	-
25	Clarks Hill Lake	Lincoln	6.7 ft	20 µg/L	7.2 µg/L	-

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All-states list →Clearest lakes in Georgia (by Secchi clarity) →Minnesota version →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →Best swimming lakes in Georgia →All Georgia lakes →

Clearest lakes in Georgia by water clarity

“Clearest” ranks by Secchi depth — how far you can see into the water — which can differ from the combined cleanliness score above. The clearest water in Georgia is Lake Hartwell at 13.5 ft of Secchi visibility.

1. Lake Hartwell — 13.5 ft, Hart County
2. Lake Lanier Upstream From Flowery Branch Confluence — 13 ft, Hall County
3. Lake Burton — 12.5 ft, Rabun County
4. Lake Rabun — 10.9 ft, Rabun County
5. Lake Blue Ridge — 9.5 ft, Fannin County

See the full clearest-lakes ranking for Georgia →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cleanest lake in Georgia?

Lake Worth (Dougherty County, GA) ranks first on measured clarity and nutrients in the 2026 Georgia sampling record. Each lake's nutrient and algae readings — total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity — are shown beside the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition class for that lake's own ecoregion, so a reading is compared against the lakes it would naturally resemble. LakeQuality publishes no letter grade. Cleanliness here means a low nutrient load and little algae, measured directly from EPA and state DNR samples; where two lakes tie on nutrients and algae, the deeper Secchi reading ranks first.

Where in Georgia has the cleanest water?

Georgia's clearest waters are concentrated in deeper, lower-nutrient glacial basins with forested or low-agriculture watersheds. Among the current top-ranked lakes above, counties like Harris, Dougherty, and Troup produce the highest-scoring lakes.

What is the clearest lake in Georgia?

Lake Hartwell is the clearest lake in Georgia by water clarity, with a Secchi depth of 13.5 feet — the deepest transparency in our 2026 dataset. "Clearest" ranks by Secchi depth (how far you can see into the water) specifically, while "cleanest" combines clarity with phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. See our full clearest-lakes ranking for Georgia for the top 25 by Secchi clarity.

Are these lakes safe to swim in?

Not on these readings alone. Clarity and nutrient readings are not a swimming clearance: they do not measure E. coli, cyanotoxins, or a posted beach closure, and a lake with low chlorophyll-a can still bloom. Always check current posted advisories before swimming: water quality changes seasonally, especially in late summer when blue-green algae bloom risk peaks.

How is this ranking calculated?

Lakes are ranked on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity as measured by EPA and state agency sampling, read against EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition classes for that lake’s ecoregion, not a Georgia-only 0–100 average. Water clarity is shown beside the nutrient readings. Lakes with limited sampling do not headline the table.

What are the top 5 cleanest lakes in the US?

There is no single national ranking of cleanest lakes — each state agency uses different metrics. Crater Lake (Oregon) is widely cited as the clearest US lake, with Secchi depths over 30 m. Lake Tahoe and Lake Superior are also top-tier nationally. Within Georgia, the 25 lakes ranked above have the lowest nutrient and algae readings in our 2026 dataset.

How we rank cleanest lakes

Cleanliness here means three things working together:

Secchi clarity — how deep you can see into the water (in feet). Greater depth = clearer water = lower suspended sediment and algae.
Total phosphorus — the nutrient that fuels algae. Lower phosphorus levels mean less algae growth potential.
Chlorophyll-a — the green pigment in algae. Direct measurement of how much algae is currently in the water.

Each signal is normalized against Georgia state norms and combined into a single 0–100 score. The lakes above are sorted by that combined score.Full methodology →

More on clean water

Lake Water Quality Explained: What the Readings Mean

How nutrient and algae readings are read against EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each class means in the water, and why a clean reading is not a clearance.

Cleanest Small Lakes in America 2026

The cleanest U.S. lakes under 500 acres, ranked on measured nutrients, algae, and water clarity — with the size cutoff applied to the lake, not the sample.

How to Choose a Clean Lake for a Cabin or Weekend Trip

A practical checklist for picking a lake with good water quality — clarity, phosphorus, algae history, depth, and the data to check before you commit.

Where to stay near Georgia's cleanest lakes

Compare cabins, resorts, and rentals around Lake Worth (Dougherty County, GA) and the other lakes in this ranking, with live availability and prices for your trip. Each pin on the map is one of the ranked lakes above.

Top-rated places to stay near Lake Worth (Dougherty County, GA)

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.