Rainbow Pond
Hartford County, Connecticut235 acresView mapDirections
CT DEEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Rainbow Pond. Here is what has been measured.
- Public access
- Limited data
Rainbow Pond in Hartford County, Connecticut has water-quality measurements published by CT DEEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility. Surface area: 234.5 acres.
Rainbow Pond is a 235-acre lake in Hartford County, Connecticut. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2024-10-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Rainbow Pond is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Rainbow Pond is safe to swim in today is a call for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Rainbow Pond
These are the measurements CT DEEP publishes for Rainbow Pond, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 6.3 ft. TSI 51.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.3ft | Measured, not scored 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) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 51 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Rainbow Pond
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
235 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by CT DEEP
No bathymetric survey has been published for Rainbow Pond, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Rainbow ReservoirPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Fishing Rainbow Pond
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Rainbow Pond is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Rainbow Reservoir Dam (completed 1925), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Farmington River; earth-type dam, 43 ft tall and 1,310 ft long.
- Surface area
- 234.5 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,800 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 9,400 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 588 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- The Farmington River Power Co.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CT00039 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Hartford County
Frequently asked questions about Rainbow Pond
Where is Rainbow Pond?
- Rainbow Pond is a lake in Hartford County, Connecticut. Its water-quality measurements are published by CT DEEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Rainbow Pond?
- Rainbow Pond in Hartford County, Connecticut has water-quality measurements published by CT DEEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility. Surface area: 234.5 acres.
Is Rainbow Pond safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Rainbow Pond?
- Rainbow Pond has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Rainbow Reservoir. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Rainbow Pond?
- Rainbow Pond has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Connecticut's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Rainbow Pond across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
495 measurements from 6 monitoring stations, 2021–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS461 samples · 2021–2023 - CT DEEP Volunteer Water Monitoring Program (Volunteer)
CTVOLMON34 samples · 2024
Monitoring station identifiers (6)
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory