What is the cleanest lake near Harriman Pond?

Unnamed Pond Referred To by Dec As Waits in Orange County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 10.7 miles from Harriman Pond.

Why is Harriman Pond not Grade A?

Harriman Pond holds Grade B, with about 8.2 ft of water clarity and 18.9 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 Harriman Pond in Vermont, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Harriman Pond, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Harriman Pond

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

Harriman Pond carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Unnamed Pond Referred To by Dec As Waits (Orange County, Grade A, 10.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Unnamed Pond Referred To by Dec As Waits

Orange County, Vermont · 10.7 mi from Harriman Pond

+Higher grade (B → A)
+Lower phosphorus (6.8 vs 18.9 µg/L)

Lake Morey

Orange County, Vermont · 12.8 mi from Harriman Pond

+Higher grade (B → A)
++11.5 ft water clarity

Harveys Lake

Caledonia County, Vermont · 13.4 mi from Harriman Pond

+Higher grade (B → A)
++12.8 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (8.4 vs 18.9 µg/L)

Halls Lake

Orange County, Vermont · 2.6 mi from Harriman Pond

+Higher grade (B → A)
++5.7 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (12.7 vs 18.9 µg/L)

Tenney Pond

Orange County, Vermont · 4.3 mi from Harriman Pond

+Higher grade (B → A)
++4.6 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (10 vs 18.9 µg/L)

Reading the cohort

5 cleaner lakes sit within 30 miles of Harriman Pond in the EPA water-quality dataset. With that many higher-grade neighbors close by, Harriman Pond's Grade B 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 Vermont weekend.

Unnamed Pond Referred To by Dec As Waits (Orange County, Grade A) is the closest cleaner option at 10.7 miles from Harriman Pond — close enough to be a genuine substitute for most users, far enough that it isn't the same neighborhood lake. Worth the trip if water quality is the primary driver; less obvious if Harriman Pond is on the way to other plans.

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.