Big Fresh Pond
Suffolk County, New YorkView mapDirections
Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 38 ft max depth
- Limited data
Big Fresh Pond in Suffolk County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility.
- Clarity
- 7.5 ft
- Max depth
- ~38 ft est.
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Watch Big Fresh Pond’s letter
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Why Big Fresh Pond has no grade
Big Fresh Pond has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Big Fresh Pond is Not Rated — not an F. Its 7.5-foot median from 8 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.
Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Big Fresh Pond is a lake in Suffolk County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-19. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Big Fresh Pond is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Big Fresh Pond
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.5 ft. TSI 48.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 7.5 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 48 | Mesotrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~38 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~9 ft est. |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Big Fresh Pond.
Lake Size & Watershed
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Fishing Big Fresh Pond
EPA Impairment Status
Big Fresh Pond is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NY1701-0125 · Official waterbody report · Matched by proximity (0.4 km)
Nearby Lakes in Suffolk County
Frequently asked questions about Big Fresh Pond
Where is Big Fresh Pond?
- Big Fresh Pond is a lake in Suffolk County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Big Fresh Pond?
- Big Fresh Pond in Suffolk County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility.
Is Big Fresh Pond safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Big Fresh Pond is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Big Fresh Pond?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Big Fresh Pond, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Big Fresh Pond across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Fire Island?
Big Fresh Pond is about 34 miles from Fire Island National Seashore. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Fire Island →More New York Lake Rankings
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS8 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)