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LakeQuality
Late afternoon sun over Slim Lake, scattering a bright path across wind-textured water
C

Breathitt County Lake Quality

Kentucky, 2 lakes, average grade C (Fair)

Breathitt County holds 2 monitored lakes. With a sample that small the county-level summary describes those specific waters, not necessarily every water body in the county. 1 of those lake carry an A–F grade. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. Breathitt 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.

The county's lakes lean shallow, which makes the grades sensitive to wind, sediment-resuspension, and any nutrient inputs from the watershed. The cleanest lake on the books is Panbowl Lake (C); the most-stressed is Panbowl Lake (C).

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All Lakes in Breathitt County

2 lakes · 1 graded, 1 not rated1 graded lake · 1 not rated, hidden

#LakeGradeClarityPhosphorusAlgaeTrophicAccess
1CPanbowl LakeBreathittCNo recent samples30 µg/LNo recent samplesNo recent samples✓ Public
NRPanbowl LakeBreathittNRNo recent samplesNo recent samplesNo recent samplesNo recent samples✓ Public

NR = not rated: there is not enough recent sampling to support a letter. That is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 (insufficient information), not a failing grade. How grading works.

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See how Breathitt County stacks up in the national county water-quality rankings, or browse the full directory of graded lakes across all United States (49 states), Canada (Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador), and 38 other country hubs..

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.