Waterbury Reservoir
Washington County, Vermont850 acresView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Waterbury Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Hydrologic alteration
- 52 ft max depth
Waterbury Reservoir in Washington County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 9.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.6 µg/L. Surface area: 850 acres.
Waterbury Reservoir is a 850-acre mesotrophic lake in Washington County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 52 feet. Phosphorus level is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 8 other monitored lakes in Washington County, Waterbury Reservoir ranks #7 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-08-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Waterbury Reservoir covers about 850 acres in Washington County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Waterbury Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
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. Waterbury Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for hydrologic alteration. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Waterbury Reservoir 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 Waterbury Reservoir
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Waterbury Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 9.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.6 µg/L. TSI 38.
| 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 | 9.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.6µg/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. | 38 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Waterbury Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Waterbury Reservoir water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~52 ft est.
Surface area
850 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 Waterbury Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
107 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
13.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
574 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 Waterbury Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Waterbury Reservoir in Washington 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 Waterbury Reservoir
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Fishing Waterbury Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2021–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.48 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.33 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Waterbury Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Waterbury (completed 1938), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Little River; earth-type dam, 187 ft tall and 2,130 ft long.
- Surface area
- 850 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 88,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 109 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- STATE OF VERMONT - DEC
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Hydroelectric.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00027 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Waterbury Reservoir 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 VT08-11L02_01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Washington County
Frequently asked questions about Waterbury Reservoir
Where is Waterbury Reservoir?
- Waterbury Reservoir is a lake in Washington County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Waterbury Reservoir?
- Waterbury Reservoir in Washington County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 9.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.6 µg/L. Surface area: 850 acres.
Is Waterbury Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Waterbury Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for hydrologic alteration. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Waterbury Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Waterbury Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 52 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 850 acres.
Explore Waterbury Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
113 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ113 samples · 2021–2025
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)