1
—Swift Creek Reservoir Sta
Chesterfield County, Virginia · 6.5 mi from Swift Creek Lake Sta
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (30 vs 60 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Swift Creek Lake Sta
5 lakes with lower nutrient and algae readings within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Swift Creek Lake Sta carries nutrient and algae readings on record. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes read lower. Swift Creek Reservoir Sta (Chesterfield County, Grade D, 6.5 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
2
—Swift Creek Reservoir Sta
Chesterfield County, Virginia · 6.8 mi from Swift Creek Lake Sta
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (30 vs 60 µg/L)
3
—Swift Creek Reservoir Sta
Chesterfield County, Virginia · 8.6 mi from Swift Creek Lake Sta
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (30 vs 60 µg/L)
4
—Lake Chesdin Sta
Chesterfield County, Virginia · 8.7 mi from Swift Creek Lake Sta
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.4 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (30 vs 60 µg/L)
5
—Lake Chesdin Sta
Chesterfield County, Virginia · 9.9 mi from Swift Creek Lake Sta
- +Higher grade (F → D)
- ++1.4 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (30 vs 60 µg/L)
Reading the cohort
Within 30 miles of Swift Creek Lake Sta, 5 water bodies carry lower nutrient and algae readings on the same EPA water-quality metrics. That density of cleaner options is itself a signal: when several nearby lakes read better on the same indicators, the differences at Swift Creek Lake Sta 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.
Swift Creek Reservoir Sta (Chesterfield County) is the closest cleaner option at 6.5 miles from Swift Creek Lake Sta: 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 Swift Creek Lake Sta is on the way to other plans.
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. Lower readings mean measurably less nutrient and algae in the water, not better scenery or access: the lake with the clearest, lowest-nutrient water can have worse boat-launch facilities or shoreline access than a neighbor, so the comparison is one input alongside the rest of trip planning. How the readings are classified is on our methodology page.
How this list is built
Sampled lakes on LakeQuality carry readings from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — nutrients and algae measured against EPA National Lakes Assessment ecoregion classes. Secchi is shown, not scored. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by the size of the improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.