Cooks Pond
Plymouth County, MassachusettsView mapDirections
MassDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Cooks Pond. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 49 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Cooks Pond in Plymouth County, Massachusetts has water-quality measurements published by MassDEP, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 48.4 µg/L.
Cooks Pond is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Plymouth County, Massachusetts with an estimated average depth of about 49 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 11 other monitored lakes in Plymouth County, Cooks Pond ranks #12 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, MassDEP, last sampled 2018-09-25. 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. Cooks Pond is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cooks Pond is safe to swim in today is a call for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Cooks Pond
These are the measurements MassDEP publishes for Cooks Pond, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Chlorophyll-a 48.4 µg/L. TSI 69.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 48.4µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 69 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Cooks Pond
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~49 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by MassDEP
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Massachusetts has not published bathymetry for Cooks Pond.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
35 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
115 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Cooks Pond
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Cooks Pond in Plymouth County, Massachusetts — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Cooks Pond are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Cooks Pond
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Fishing Cooks Pond
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cooks Pond is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cooks Pond Dam on the Tributary to Town Brook, 12 ft tall.
- Normal storage
- 42.5 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 229.5 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Undetermined
- Owner
- MA Department of Fish and Game
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MA01027 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Cooks Pond is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation, Other.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MA94027 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Plymouth County
Frequently asked questions about Cooks Pond
Where is Cooks Pond?
- Cooks Pond is a lake in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Its water-quality measurements are published by MassDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cooks Pond?
- Cooks Pond in Plymouth County, Massachusetts has water-quality measurements published by MassDEP, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 48.4 µg/L.
Is Cooks Pond safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cooks Pond is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Cooks Pond?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Cooks Pond, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 49 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Cooks Pond?
- Public access to Cooks Pond is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Massachusetts's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Cooks Pond across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Cape Cod?
Cooks Pond is about 32 miles from Cape Cod 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 Cape Cod →More lakes in Massachusetts
Other Lakes in Massachusetts
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Massachusetts
Where this data comes from
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
MASSDEP3 samples · 2018
Analytical methods
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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)