Graham County Lake Quality
North Carolina, 4 lakes, average grade C (Fair)
Graham 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. Every one of those lakes carries an A–F grade, so the county-level summary covers the full set rather than a monitored subset. Graham 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.
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. Lake Cheoah (C) is the cleanest in the county.
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Quick Answers for Graham County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Lake Cheoah — or check the official North Carolina fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Graham County
4 lakes4 graded lakes
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLake CheoahGraham | C | 14.6 ft | 30 µg/L | 1 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 2 | CFontana LakeGraham | C | 14.1 ft | 30 µg/L | 4.1 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
| 3 | CCalderwood LakeGraham | C | 16.4 ft | 30 µg/L | 1.3 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
| 4 | CSanteetlah LakeGraham | C | 14.3 ft | 30 µg/L | 3.7 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
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Other Counties in North Carolina
See how Graham 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.