Macon County Lake Quality
Missouri, 3 lakes, average grade C (Fair)
Macon County has 3 monitored 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. 2 of those lakes carry an A–F grade. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. The county average is C — the middle of the rubric, with one or two lakes pulling the average up or down depending on year.
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 Long Branch Lake (C); the most-stressed is Macon City Lake (D).
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Quick Answers for Macon County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Long Branch Lake — or check the official Missouri fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Macon County
3 lakes · 2 graded, 1 not rated2 graded lakes · 1 not rated, hidden
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLong Branch LakeMacon | C | 1.8 ft | 43.5 µg/L | 16.1 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 2 | DMacon City LakeMacon | D | 1.9 ft | 56.6 µg/L | 24.3 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
| NRSanta Fe LakeMacon | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded |
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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Other Counties in Missouri
See how Macon 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.