Ouray County Lake Quality

Ouray County has 1 graded lakes — a thin enough sample that one or two stressed lakes can move the county average noticeably. Use the per-lake pages below for what actually matters. Ouray County averages to a C. The distribution behind that average matters more than the letter: a few stressed lakes versus many decent ones can produce the same average as the inverse.

Most of the county's monitored lakes are shallow — under 50 feet — which means wind keeps the water column mixed all summer and sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the surface layer whenever the bottom is disturbed. Ridgway Reservoir (C) is the cleanest in the county.