Charles City County Lake Quality
Virginia, 4 lakes, average grade C (Fair)
Charles City 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. Charles City 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. Chickahominy Lake Sta Upper Lake New (B) is the cleanest in the county.
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Quick Answers for Charles City County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Chickahominy Lake Sta Upper Lake New — or check the official Virginia fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Charles City County
4 lakes · 3 graded, 1 not rated3 graded lakes · 1 not rated, hidden
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BChickahominy Lake Sta Upper Lake NewCharles City | B | 2.1 ft | 60 µg/L | 12.5 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 2 | CChickahominy LakeCharles City | C | 2.6 ft | 85 µg/L | 4.3 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 3 | DChickahominy ReservoirCharles City | D | 2 ft | 60 µg/L | 15.4 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| NRCharles LakeCharles City | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded |
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 Virginia
See how Charles City 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.