Routt County Lake Quality

There are 18 monitored lakes in Routt County. The mix is varied enough that the county-level average tells you the broad strokes, not the choose-this-cabin specifics. 3 of those lakes carry an A–F grade. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. The county-wide average grade is D — water quality issues are persistent across most of the monitored basins. 0 lakes fall into the F bracket outright.

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. Pearl Lake (C) is the cleanest in the county.