Catawba County Lake Quality
North Carolina, 4 lakes, average grade C (Fair)
Catawba County has 4 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. 3 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.
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. Lookout Shoals Lake (C) is the cleanest in the county.
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Quick Answers for Catawba County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Lookout Shoals Lake — or check the official North Carolina fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Catawba County
4 lakes · 3 graded, 1 not rated3 graded lakes · 1 not rated, hidden
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLookout Shoals LakeCatawba | C | No recent samples | 20 µg/L | 8.1 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
| 2 | CNewton City LakeCatawba | C | No recent samples | No recent samples | 5.6 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 3 | DLake HickoryCatawba | D | No recent samples | 30 µg/L | 14 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
| NRLake HickoryCatawba | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No 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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Other Counties in North Carolina
See how Catawba 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 and Québec), and 38 other country hubs..
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.