Hickory County Lake Quality

Hickory 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. Every one of those lakes carries an A–F grade, so the county-level summary covers the full set rather than a monitored subset. Hickory 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 Pomme de Terre L. Central Arm Lake (C); the most-stressed is Pomme de Terre Lake (D).