Washington County Lake Quality

There are 18 monitored lakes in Washington 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. Most monitored lakes in Washington County carry favourable nutrient and algae readings for Wisconsin.

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. Big Cedar Lake-North Site-Near West Bend has the lowest nutrient and algae readings in the county.