Updated Aug 2026
New Mexico Lake Water Quality
Water quality grades for 17 of the 326 lakes we list here, across 30 counties.
Grade Distribution
All 326 New Mexico lakes in the index: 17 (5.2%) carry an A–F grade and 309 (94.8%) are not rated, because they lack enough recent nutrient or algae sampling to support a letter.
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Where to stay near New Mexico's top-graded lakes
Cabins, resorts, and vacation rentals around Abiquiu Reservoir Chama R Inlet and the other top-graded New Mexico lakes pinned on the map. Live availability and prices.
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Explore New Mexico Lakes
New Mexico reports, fishing & travel
Reservoirs in New Mexico
View all 39 reservoirs →39 of 326 New Mexico lakes (12%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 36 carry a High or Significant hazard rating. The oldest matched dam dates to 1900.
EPA-Impaired Lakes in New Mexico
View all 39 impaired lakes →39 of 326 New Mexico lakes (12%) are officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the most recent EPA ATTAINS reporting cycle. 5 have an approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) restoration plan.
New Mexico Fishing & Recreation
Licenses, regulations, records, and where to fish across New Mexico.
Counties
All 30 New Mexico 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.
New Mexico Lakes Needing Attention
17 lakes17 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FCaballo Lake | Sierra | F | 1.8 ft |
| 2 | FHopewell Lake | Rio Arriba | F | 3.9 ft |
| 3 | DGrindstone Caynon Reservoir Inlet | Lincoln | D | No recent samples |
| 4 | DSilver Lake Shallow | Otero | D | No recent samples |
| 5 | DE Butte Lake | Sierra | D | 3.6 ft |
| 6 | DAlto Lake | Lincoln | D | 8.9 ft |
| 7 | CSilver Lake Deep | Otero | C | No recent samples |
| 8 | CMescalero Lake Shallow | Otero | C | No recent samples |
| 9 | CMescalero Lake Deep | Otero | C | No recent samples |
| 10 | CSandia Lakes | Sandoval | C | 1.2 ft |
| 11 | CSandia Lakes Recreation Area | Sandoval | C | 1.3 ft |
| 12 | CHeron Lake Shallow | Rio Arriba | C | 2.5 ft |
| 13 | CGrindstone Canyon Reservoir Deep | Lincoln | C | 9 ft |
| 14 | CHeron Lake Deep Dam | Rio Arriba | C | 3.7 ft |
| 15 | ASanta Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake | Guadalupe | A | 1.6 ft |
| 16 | AConchas Reservoir | San Miguel | A | 8.9 ft |
| 17 | AAbiquiu Reservoir Chama R Inlet | Rio Arriba | A | 3.3 ft |
New Mexico lists 326 lakes across 30 counties, 17 of which carry a grade. Most of the input behind those grades flows through monitoring run by the New Mexico Environment Department, 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.
By surface area the largest lake here is E Butte Lake, at about 42,750 acres, and 28 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. San Miguel ranks highest on average county grade (A), and Sierra sits lowest. With only 30 counties in the state, the cross-county spread is narrower than the within-county spread for most lakes.
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.