Washington County Lake Quality

Washington County has 1 monitored lake — 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 lake carries recent nutrient and algae readings, so the county-level summary covers the full set rather than a monitored subset. Phosphorus and algae readings vary widely across Washington County; the per-lake pages below carry the numbers.

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. Watauga River Lake has the lowest nutrient and algae readings in the county.