Updated Aug 2026
Alabama Lake Water Quality
Water quality grades for 74 of the 422 lakes we list here, across 67 counties.
Grade Distribution
All 422 Alabama lakes in the index: 74 (17.5%) carry an A–F grade and 348 (82.5%) are not rated, because they lack enough recent nutrient or algae sampling to support a letter.
Top-Graded Alabama Lakes
The highest water-quality grades in Alabama — clarity, depth, and A-F grade at a glance.
Lake Map
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New grades, clarity readings, and algae advisories for Alabama lakes as samples come in. Unsubscribe anytime.
Where to stay near Alabama's top-graded lakes
Cabins, resorts, and vacation rentals around Smiw Lake and the other top-graded Alabama lakes pinned on the map. Live availability and prices.
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Explore Alabama Lakes
Alabama reports, fishing & travel
Reservoirs in Alabama
View all 44 reservoirs →44 of 422 Alabama lakes (10%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 37 carry a High or Significant hazard rating. The oldest matched dam dates to 1910.
EPA-Impaired Lakes in Alabama
View all 24 impaired lakes →24 of 422 Alabama lakes (6%) are officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the most recent EPA ATTAINS reporting cycle. 11 have an approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) restoration plan.
Alabama Fishing & Recreation
Licenses, regulations, records, and where to fish across Alabama.
Counties
All 67 Alabama counties, ranked by average lake water quality. Compare them against every county nationwide in the county rankings, browse the full directory of graded lakes, or pick a different state.
Top 25 Cleanest Lakes
25 lakes25 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ASmiw Lake | Winston | A | 11.5 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 2 | ALake Andrews | Houston | A | 5.9 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 3 | ATust Lake | Tuscaloosa | A | 7.7 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 4 | AInlb Lake | Blount | A | 11.9 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 5 | AThue Lake | Elmore | A | 5.8 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 6 | AClam Lake | Wilcox | A | 3 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 7 | AClam Lake | Monroe | A | 3 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 8 | AMare Lake | Elmore | A | 10.6 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 9 | AMare Lake | Randolph | A | 11.5 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 10 | AYate Lake | Tallapoosa | A | 4.7 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 11 | AYate Lake | Tallapoosa | A | 7.4 ft | Oligotrophic | Not recorded |
| 12 | ABclm Lake | Mobile | A | 6.9 ft | Oligotrophic | Not recorded |
| 13 | AShlb Lake | Baldwin | A | 4.4 ft | Oligotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 14 | ANcht Lake | Tuscaloosa | A | 5.3 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 15 | ASinl Lake | Lawrence | A | 14.5 ft | Oligotrophic | Not recorded |
| 16 | AEllf Lake | Franklin | A | 8.8 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 17 | BWarg Lake | Hale | B | 2.8 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 18 | BOlit Lake | Tuscaloosa | B | 4.3 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 19 | BPtac Lake | Covington | B | 3.6 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 20 | BFjac Lake | Covington | B | 3.9 ft | Eutrophic | Not recorded |
| 21 | BGntc Lake | Covington | B | 3.7 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 22 | BDanw Lake | Dallas | B | 3.1 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 23 | BDanw Lake | Wilcox | B | 2.9 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 24 | BDanw Lake | Wilcox | B | 2.9 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 25 | BDanw Lake | Dallas | B | 3 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
25 Lakes Needing Attention
25 lakes25 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FBvlj Lake | Jefferson | F | 2.1 ft |
| 2 | DButl Lake | Marion | D | No recent samples |
| 3 | DBerw Lake | Winston | D | 5 ft |
| 4 | DOgll Lake | Lee | D | 4.1 ft |
| 5 | DFncc Lake | Chambers | D | 3.1 ft |
| 6 | DBwcd Lake | DeKalb | D | 4.3 ft |
| 7 | DHilc Lake | Calhoun | D | 3.8 ft |
| 8 | DAlbd Lake | DeKalb | D | 6.5 ft |
| 9 | DCtmc Lake | Cullman | D | 5.4 ft |
| 10 | DTurl Lake | Lawrence | D | 5 ft |
| 11 | DDucc Lake | Cullman | D | 4.1 ft |
| 12 | DNees Lake | Cherokee | D | 2.4 ft |
| 13 | DNees Lake | St. Clair | D | 2.7 ft |
| 14 | DLayc Lake | Shelby | D | 3.7 ft |
| 15 | DLogs Lake | Talladega | D | 2.6 ft |
| 16 | DTenr Lake | Lauderdale | D | 4.2 ft |
| 17 | DTennessee River Lake | Jackson | D | 6.5 ft |
| 18 | DHolt Lake | Tuscaloosa | D | 4.7 ft |
| 19 | DHolt Lake | Tuscaloosa | D | 4.5 ft |
| 20 | DWeic Lake | Cherokee | D | 3.3 ft |
| 21 | DWeic Lake | Cherokee | D | 2.6 ft |
| 22 | DPurs Lake | Jefferson | D | 3.6 ft |
| 23 | DBant Lake | Walker | D | 3.3 ft |
| 24 | CCahc Lake | Cleburne | C | 6.3 ft |
| 25 | CTlst Lake | Talladega | C | 6.3 ft |
Alabama lists 422 lakes across 67 counties, 74 of which carry a grade. Most of the input behind those grades flows through monitoring run by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which feeds state, federal, and volunteer measurements into the EPA Water Quality Portal. The remainder are here because they are real named lakes, not because anyone has sampled them recently. About 22% of graded Alabama lakes earn an A. The bulk sit in the middle B to C range; 31% fall into D or F, almost all of those in counties where row-crop agriculture dominates the watershed.
By surface area the largest lake here is Yate Lake, at about 40,000 acres, and 44 of the lakes in this index cover more than 500 acres. Size is worth knowing before you go: a large deep basin buffers nutrient inputs by sheer volume, while a shallow one warms quickly and can turn over its whole water column in a single summer storm. The graded lakes lean eutrophic, with enough nutrient input to support an active algal community and the trade-offs in clarity and dissolved oxygen that come with it. The cleanest county on average is Houston (grade A); the most-stressed is Jefferson. The gap between the top and bottom counties is large enough that a single figure for Alabama lake water quality hides real local variation.
Lake Match
Which lake suits how you actually use one?
Six questions — swimming, fishing, quiet, cabins, drive time — and a shortlist of graded lakes that fit, with the water quality behind each one.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys and the EPA Water Quality Portal.
More on lake water quality
A data snapshot of the lakes we grade: how the A–F distribution breaks down, the clearest and the greenest states, and where the water is improving.
How lakes are graded A–F on nutrients and algae using EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each letter means in the water, and why an A is not a clearance.
The cleanest and dirtiest U.S. lakes in the monitoring record, ranked on EPA nutrient and algae condition classes across thousands of graded lakes.
The clearest lakes in America, ranked by measured Secchi depth in feet from EPA monitoring data — and why the famously clear lakes are missing.