Adams County Lake Quality
North Dakota, 2 lakes, average grade C (Fair)
Adams 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. 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. North Lemmon Lake (B) is the cleanest in the county.
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Quick Answers for Adams County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for North Lemmon Lake — or check the official North Dakota fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Adams County
2 lakes2 graded lakes
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BNorth Lemmon LakeAdams | B | 5.7 ft | 22.5 µg/L | 4.8 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
| 2 | FMirror LakeAdams | F | 2.1 ft | 388 µg/L | 31.6 µg/L | No recent samples | ✓ Public |
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Other Counties in North Dakota
See how Adams 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.