Waughop Lake
Pierce County, WashingtonView mapDirections
Washington Ecology publishes the water-quality measurements for Waughop Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- Limited data
Waughop Lake in Pierce County, Washington has water-quality measurements published by Washington Ecology, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.6 ft visibility.
Waughop Lake is a lake in Pierce County, Washington. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, WA Ecology, last sampled 2012-07-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Waughop Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Waughop Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Washington State Department of Ecology and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Waughop Lake
These are the measurements Washington Ecology publishes for Waughop Lake, 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 5.6 ft. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.6ft | 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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Fishing Waughop Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2021). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
EPA Impairment Status
Waughop Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2018 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit WA17110019001213_001_001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Pierce County
Frequently asked questions about Waughop Lake
Where is Waughop Lake?
- Waughop Lake is a lake in Pierce County, Washington. Its water-quality measurements are published by Washington Ecology and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Waughop Lake?
- Waughop Lake in Pierce County, Washington has water-quality measurements published by Washington Ecology, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.6 ft visibility.
Is Waughop Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Waughop Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2012. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS1 sample · 2012
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