What is the cleanest lake near Degray Lake?

Lake Ouachita in Garland County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 21.2 miles from Degray Lake.

Why is Degray Lake not Grade A?

Degray Lake holds Grade C, with about 4.7 ft of water clarity and 55 µg/L of phosphorus. The grade reflects measured water quality against Metropolitan Council thresholds. Cleaner alternatives nearby score higher on clarity, phosphorus, or chlorophyll-a.

Are these recommendations based on real data?

Yes. Every grade is calculated from EPA Water Quality Portal samples for the lake. Recommendations are limited to lakes within 30 miles of Degray Lake in Arkansas, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Degray Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Degray Lake

5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.

Degray Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Lake Ouachita (Garland County, Grade A, 21.2 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Lake Ouachita

Garland County, Arkansas · 21.2 mi from Degray Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++10.3 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (20 vs 55 µg/L)

Nla Lake

Garland County, Arkansas · 16.1 mi from Degray Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++3.6 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (13.9 vs 55 µg/L)

Lake Hamilton

Garland County, Arkansas · 17.4 mi from Degray Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++7.2 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (22.5 vs 55 µg/L)

Degray Lake

Clark County, Arkansas · 10.9 mi from Degray Lake

+Higher grade (C → B)
++4.8 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (24 vs 55 µg/L)

Lake Catherine

Garland County, Arkansas · 19.4 mi from Degray Lake

+Higher overall water quality score
++1.3 ft water clarity

Reading the cohort

5 cleaner lakes sit within 30 miles of Degray Lake in the EPA water-quality dataset. With that many higher-grade neighbors close by, Degray Lake's Grade C reflects something specific to the lake itself — not a regional water-quality ceiling. The neighbor list below isn't a small set of marginal upgrades; it's a real cohort of meaningfully cleaner choices for the same Arkansas weekend.

The nearest cleaner alternative — Lake Ouachita in Garland County — sits 21.2 miles from Degray Lake, putting it firmly in "destination trip" rather than "neighborhood swap" range. The water-quality gap has to be the deciding factor; for a casual outing, Degray Lake is the practical choice and the cleaner options are reserved for purpose-specific visits.

The EPA water-quality grading combines clarity (Secchi depth), phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measurements from state environmental sampling. A higher letter grade reflects measurably cleaner water on those indicators, not subjective beauty or access quality — a Grade A lake might have worse boat-launch facilities or shoreline access than a Grade C neighbor, so the ranking is one input alongside the rest of trip planning. See the methodology page for the full grading formula.

How this list is built

Every lake on LakeQuality has a calculated grade from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measured against Metropolitan Council thresholds. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by grade improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.