Essex County Lake Quality

There are 22 monitored lakes in Essex County. The mix is varied enough that the county-level average tells you the broad strokes, not the choose-this-cabin specifics. 9 of those lakes carry recent nutrient and algae readings. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. The county-wide picture is low-to-moderate phosphorus with clear summer transparency across most monitored lakes.

The county's lakes lean shallow, which makes the readings sensitive to wind, sediment-resuspension, and any nutrient inputs from the watershed. The cleanest measured lake is Maidstone Lake.