Bow Lake
Strafford County, New Hampshire1,140 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from NHDES for this lake.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 65 ft max depth
Bow Lake in Strafford County, New Hampshire has water-quality measurements published by NHDES, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 1140 acres.
Bow Lake is a 1,140-acre lake in Strafford County, New Hampshire with a maximum depth of 65 feet (21-foot average).
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Bow Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Deep water65 ft surveyed max depth
- Big water1,140 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingNot rated
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Bow Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Bow Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Bow Lake
These are the measurements NHDES publishes for Bow Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. TSI undefined.
Ask about Bow Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
65 ft
Average depth
21 ft
Surface area
1,140 acres
Shoreline
10.4 mi
The depth above comes from a bathymetric survey of this lake, not from a regional estimate.
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Fishing Bow Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Bow Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NHLAK600030604-01-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Strafford County
Frequently asked questions about Bow Lake
Where is Bow Lake?
- Bow Lake is a lake in Strafford County, New Hampshire. Its water-quality measurements are published by NHDES and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Bow Lake?
- Bow Lake in Strafford County, New Hampshire has water-quality measurements published by NHDES, shown here as reported. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 1140 acres.
Is Bow Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Bow Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Bow Lake?
- Bow Lake has a maximum depth of 65 feet and an average depth of 21 feet. The lake covers 1140 acres.
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Where this data comes from
Measurements for Bow Lake come from the EPA Water Quality Portal. Per-sample source details are not recorded for this lake.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database