Lancaster County Lake Quality

There are 36 graded lakes in Lancaster County. The mix is varied enough that the county-level average tells you the broad strokes, not the choose-this-cabin specifics. 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 a leading lake (—); the most-stressed is a stressed lake (—).