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LakeQuality

Lowell Lake

Windham County, Vermont100 acresView mapDirections

Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Lowell Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
13.5 ft
Typical for Vermont
Secchi · sampled 2025
Phosphorus
8.2 µg/L
Less phosphorus than most
Measured by Vermont DEC
Chlorophyll-a
1.8 µg/L
Less algae than most
Measured by Vermont DEC
Max depth
~44 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Area
100 acres
Surface area
Type
Oligotrophic
Trophic class
  • Oligotrophic
  • 44 ft max depth

Lowell Lake in Windham County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.2 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.8 µg/L. Surface area: 100 acres.

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Lowell Lake is a 100-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Windham County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 44 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 8 other monitored lakes in Windham County, Lowell Lake ranks #2 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-08-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Lowell Lake covers about 100 acres in Windham County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Lowell Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.

What Lowell Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water13.5 ft of visibility

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Low algae

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. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Lowell 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.

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Water quality measurements for Lowell Lake

These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Lowell Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Good clarity, visible to about 13.5 ft. Phosphorus 8.2 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.8 µg/L. TSI 37.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)13.5ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus8.2µg/LGood
GoodFairPoor
Chlorophyll-a (algae)1.8µg/LGood
GoodFairPoor
Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.37Oligotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.

Ask about Lowell Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

~44 ft est.

Surface area

100 acres

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Lowell Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

1 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Shoreline

1.2 mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,355 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 Lowell Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lowell Lake in Windham County, Vermont — 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.

Top-rated places to stay near Lowell Lake

Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.

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Follow Lowell Lake’s readings

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Fishing Lowell Lake

Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).

  • Water clarity

    Stable

    6 years

  • Phosphorus

    Improving

    -1.03 µg/L/yr4 years

  • Chlorophyll-a

    Improving

    -1.89 µg/L/yr4 years

See year-by-year chart →

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Lowell Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lowell Lake (completed 1850), built primarily for recreation on the West River-Tr; earth-type dam, 16 ft tall and 225 ft long.

Surface area
100 ac
Normal storage
0 ac-ft
Max storage
1,475 ac-ft
Drainage area
2.05 sq mi
Hazard class
High
Owner
STATE OF VERMONT - FPR

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00079 · Operator website

Nearby Lakes in Windham County

Frequently asked questions about Lowell Lake

Where is Lowell Lake?

Lowell Lake is a lake in Windham County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Lowell Lake?

Lowell Lake in Windham County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.2 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.8 µg/L. Surface area: 100 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Lowell Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Lowell Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Lowell Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 44 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 100 acres.

Where this data comes from

86 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation1VTDECWQ86 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
  • 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)

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

Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)