James City County Lake Quality

James City County holds 13 monitored lakes. With a sample that small the county-level summary describes those specific waters, not necessarily every water body in the county. 1 of those lake carry recent nutrient and algae readings. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. On average, James City County lakes carry some of the lowest phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings in Virginia, with clear summer transparency across most monitored basins.

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. Little Creek Reserv Sta Lake has the lowest nutrient and algae readings in the county.