Washington County Lake Quality

Washington County's 29 monitored lakes fall in the moderate-density bracket for Vermont. The county-level average smooths over real differences — a single agricultural watershed near the southwest corner can pull the average down even if the rest of the county runs clean. 9 of those lakes carry an A–F grade. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. The county's average grade is A — among the cleanest in Vermont. 8 lakes pull an A on their own, and almost none fall into the D or F brackets.

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 Berlin Pond (A); the most-stressed is Valley Lake (C).