Chipman Lake
Rutland County, VermontView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Chipman Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Nuisance exotic species
- 45 ft max depth
Chipman Lake in Rutland County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15.9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.1 µg/L.
Chipman Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Rutland County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 14 other monitored lakes in Rutland County, Chipman Lake ranks #6 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-08-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Chipman Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Chipman Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Chipman Lake
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Chipman Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.4 ft. Phosphorus 15.9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.1 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 15.9µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Chipman Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~45 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Chipman Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
72 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,198 ft
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.
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Stays near Chipman Lake
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Fishing Chipman Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.01 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.35 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Chipman Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4C).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation, Other.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VT03-15L01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Rutland County
Frequently asked questions about Chipman Lake
Where is Chipman Lake?
- Chipman Lake is a lake in Rutland County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Chipman Lake?
- Chipman Lake in Rutland County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15.9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.1 µg/L.
Is Chipman Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Chipman Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Chipman Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Chipman Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Chipman Lake across LakeQuality
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Mesotrophic Lakes in Vermont
Where this data comes from
111 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ111 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- EPA approved Alternate Test Procedure for 4500 P H. Has a 28 day hold without acid preservation.
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)