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 recent nutrient and algae readings. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. Most monitored lakes in Routt County are productive, shallow basins; each lake page shows its own phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings beside the EPA condition class.

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 has the lowest nutrient and algae readings in the county.