1
ACedar Lake
Addison County, Vermont · 15.4 mi from Jerome Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (12.6 vs 97.6 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Jerome Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Jerome Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Cedar Lake (Addison County, Grade A, 15.4 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
2
ALake Dunmore
Addison County, Vermont · 17.4 mi from Jerome Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (10.9 vs 97.6 µg/L)
3
AL. Champlain Lake
Addison County, Vermont · 5 mi from Jerome Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (26.1 vs 97.6 µg/L)
4
BPort Henry Section Lake
Addison County, Vermont · 5.2 mi from Jerome Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 97.6 µg/L)
5
BVergennes Watershed Lake
Addison County, Vermont · 10.9 mi from Jerome Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
- +Lower phosphorus (19.7 vs 97.6 µg/L)
Reading the cohort
Within 30 miles of Jerome Lake, 5 water bodies score higher than its Grade F on the same EPA water-quality metrics. That density of cleaner options is itself a signal — when several nearby lakes score better on the same indicators, the issues at Jerome Lake are typically lake-specific (depth, watershed inflow, stratification pattern) rather than regional. The choice for a swim, paddle, or fishing trip is genuinely between meaningfully different water bodies, not between marginal differences in the same dataset.
The nearest cleaner alternative — Cedar Lake in Addison County — sits 15.4 miles from Jerome 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, Jerome 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.