Canandaigua Lake
Ontario 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.
- 64 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Canandaigua Lake in Ontario County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 17.6 ft visibility.
- Clarity
- 17.6 ft
- Max depth
- ~64 ft est.
- Public access
- Yes
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Watch Canandaigua Lake’s letter
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Why Canandaigua Lake has no grade
Canandaigua Lake 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, Canandaigua Lake is Not Rated — not an F. Its 17.6-foot median from 16 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.
Canandaigua Lake is a lake in Ontario County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 64 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-20. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Canandaigua Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water17.6 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Canandaigua Lake
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Crystal clear, you can see 17.6 ft down. TSI 36.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 17.6 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 36 | Oligotrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~64 ft est. |
| Public Access | Yes |
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 Canandaigua Lake.
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.
Recreation & Access
- Canandaigua Lake (North)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Canandaigua Lake
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
4 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Canandaigua Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Bristol Sewerage Disposal CorpCanandaigua · 2.9 mi away · NPDES NY0063584Recent violation
- Rushville (V) StpGorham · 4 mi away · NPDES NY0161071Recent violation
- Williams PropertySouth Bristol · 3.4 mi away · NPDES NY0162809
- Dollinger PropertyMiddlesex · 4.7 mi away · NPDES NY0161128
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Graded lakes near Canandaigua Lake
Canandaigua Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.
Nearby Lakes in Ontario County
Frequently asked questions about Canandaigua Lake
Where is Canandaigua Lake?
- Canandaigua Lake is a lake in Ontario 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 Canandaigua Lake?
- Canandaigua Lake in Ontario County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 17.6 ft visibility.
Is Canandaigua Lake safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Canandaigua Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Canandaigua Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 64 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Canandaigua Lake?
- Canandaigua Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Canandaigua Lake (North). Public access is listed as yes.
Explore Canandaigua Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
16 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
NALMS16 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory