1
AWise Lake
Wise County, Virginia · 18.3 mi from Nla Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++6.6 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 19000 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Nla Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Nla Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Wise Lake (Wise County, Grade A, 18.3 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
2
AJohn Flannagan Reservoir
Dickenson County, Virginia · 20.6 mi from Nla Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++9.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 19000 µg/L)
3
AJohn Flannagan Reservoir@ Dam
Dickenson County, Virginia · 21.4 mi from Nla Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++13.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 19000 µg/L)
4
AHidden Valley Lake
Washington County, Virginia · 9.7 mi from Nla Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++5.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 19000 µg/L)
5
ALaurel Bed Lake
Russell County, Virginia · 21.6 mi from Nla Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++5.9 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 19000 µg/L)
Reading the cohort
Within 30 miles of Nla Lake, 5 water bodies score higher than its Grade C 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 Nla 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 — Wise Lake in Wise County — sits 18.3 miles from Nla 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, Nla 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.