White Island Pond
Plymouth County, Massachusetts322 acresView mapDirections
MassDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for White Island Pond. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 36 ft max depth
- Limited data
White Island Pond in Plymouth County, Massachusetts has water-quality measurements published by MassDEP, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 12.8 µg/L. Surface area: 322 acres.
White Island Pond is a 322-acre lake in Plymouth County, Massachusetts with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, MassDEP, last sampled 2014-09-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. White Island Pond is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for algal growth, nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether White Island Pond is safe to swim in today is a call for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for White Island Pond
These are the measurements MassDEP publishes for White Island Pond, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Chlorophyll-a 12.8 µg/L. TSI 56.
| 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 | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 12.8µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about White Island Pond
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Surface area
322 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Massachusetts has not published bathymetry for White Island Pond.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
5 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
66 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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Fishing White Island Pond
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2012–2018).
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-4.46 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
White Island Pond is a man-made reservoir impounded by the White Island Pond Dam, built primarily for irrigation on the Red Brook; earth-type dam, 11 ft tall and 90 ft long.
- Surface area
- 322 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,550 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,550 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.79 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- MA Department of Fish and Game
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MA00037 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
White Island Pond 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.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MA95166 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Plymouth County
Frequently asked questions about White Island Pond
Where is White Island Pond?
- White Island Pond is a lake in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Its water-quality measurements are published by MassDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of White Island Pond?
- White Island Pond in Plymouth County, Massachusetts has water-quality measurements published by MassDEP, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 12.8 µg/L. Surface area: 322 acres.
Is White Island Pond safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. White Island Pond is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for algal growth, nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is White Island Pond?
- No published bathymetric survey covers White Island Pond, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 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 322 acres.
Explore White Island Pond across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Cape Cod?
White Island Pond is about 31 miles from Cape Cod National Seashore. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Cape Cod →More lakes in Massachusetts
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Eutrophic Lakes in Massachusetts
Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2012–2014. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
MASSDEP20 samples · 2012–2014
Analytical methods
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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)