West Grand Lake
Washington County, Maine23,500 acresView mapDirections
Maine DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for West Grand Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
West Grand Lake in Washington County, Maine has water-quality measurements published by Maine DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 36.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1 µg/L. Surface area: 23500 acres.
West Grand Lake is a 23,500-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Washington County, Maine. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 10 other monitored lakes in Washington County, West Grand Lake ranks #5 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2022-07-27. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What West Grand Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water36.7 ft of visibility
- Big water23,500 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow 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 West Grand Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for West Grand Lake
These are the measurements Maine DEP publishes for West Grand Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 36.7 ft down. Phosphorus 3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1 µg/L. TSI 25.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 36.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1µg/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. | 25 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about West Grand Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
23,500 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for West Grand Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near West Grand Lake
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Fishing West Grand Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2020–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable0 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
West Grand Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the West Grand Lake (completed 1836), built primarily for hydroelectric on the West Branch St. Croix River; timber crib-type dam, 13 ft tall and 487 ft long.
- Surface area
- 23,500 ac
- Normal storage
- 160,900 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 160,900 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 162 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Woodland Pulp, LLC
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ME00223 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Washington County
Frequently asked questions about West Grand Lake
Where is West Grand Lake?
- West Grand Lake is a lake in Washington County, Maine. Its water-quality measurements are published by Maine DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of West Grand Lake?
- West Grand Lake in Washington County, Maine has water-quality measurements published by Maine DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 36.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1 µg/L. Surface area: 23500 acres.
Is West Grand Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore West Grand Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Maine
Other Lakes in Maine
Oligotrophic Lakes in Maine
Where this data comes from
34 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples34 samples · 2020–2022
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.