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LakeQuality

A eutrophic lake is a productive ecosystem with the trade-offs that come with productivity: more food at the base of the food web, more clarity reduction by mid-summer, more dissolved-oxygen variability near the bottom. 73 North Carolina lakes register as eutrophic. Only 0% are deep — eutrophy correlates with shallowness, agricultural watersheds, and the kind of nutrient-input history that takes decades to shift.

Eutrophic lakes typically grade C or D on our A–F scale. The same nutrient richness that defines the trophic class drives the lower grade.

#LakeCountyGradeClarityDepthTSI
1Bay Tree LakeBladenB2.4 ft-57
2White LakeBladenB3.9 ft-55
3Salters LakeBladenB1.7 ft-59
4Hope Mills LakeCumberlandB3.3 ft-56
5Old Town ReservoirMooreB6.9 ft-52
6Jones LakeBladenB2.1 ft-57
7Great LakeCravenB0.7 ft-67
8Catfish LakeCravenB1.8 ft-58
9Merchants MillpondGatesB1.6 ft-69
10Pages LakeMooreB--53
11Hamlet City LakeRichmondB--51
12Singletary LakeBladenC1.9 ft-60
13Greenfield LakeNew HanoverC4.7 ft-59
14Carthage City LakeMooreC4.9 ft-55
15Mayo ReservoirPersonC5.9 ft-52
16Hiwassee ReservoirCherokeeC10 ft-49
17Lake GastonNorthamptonC5.4 ft-53
18Lake GastonWarrenC4.1 ft-55
19Hyco LakePersonC5.6 ft-54
20John H Kerr ReservoirVanceC4.9 ft-54
21Lake LureRutherfordC--49
22Corporation LakeOrangeC2.2 ft-60
23Cliffs of the Neuse LakeWayneC7.9 ft-54
24Roberdel LakeRichmondC--58
25Falls LakeMontgomeryC--49
26Lake RhodhissCaldwellC--54
27Lookout Shoals LakeCatawbaC--49
28Lake WylieGastonC--54
29Lake NormanIredellC--51
30Bessemer City LakeGastonC--49
31West Fk Eno R ReservoirOrangeD3.8 ft-57
32Cane Creek ReservoirOrangeD3.6 ft-57
33B Everett Jordan LakeChathamD1.8 ft-68
34Catawba Creek LakeGastonD3.6 ft-58
35S Fork Catawba Riv LakeGastonD3.9 ft-57
36Lake MackintoshGuilfordD3.9 ft-56
37High Point LakeGuilfordD3 ft-60
38Lake BrandtGuilfordD3 ft-59
39Lake BurlingtonAlamanceD2.1 ft-61
40Lake TownsendGuilfordD3.5 ft-58
41Lake HuntRockinghamD3.3 ft-57
42Randleman LakeRandolphD3.2 ft-57
43Lake HigginsGuilfordD3 ft-59
44Reidsville LakeRockinghamD3 ft-58
45Blowing Rock Town PondWataugaD11.6 ft-52
46Kerr Scott ReservoirWilkesD4.9 ft-55
47Kernersville LakeForsythD2.8 ft-59
48Farmer LakeCaswellD2.1 ft-61
49Lake Isaac WaltonPersonD3.4 ft-58
50Wiggins Mill ReservoirWilsonD2.6 ft-63
51Lake SummitHendersonD7.2 ft-53
52Lake ButnerGranvilleD5.4 ft-55
53Kings Mountain ReservoirClevelandD6.9 ft-55
54Lake AdgerPolkD3.9 ft-56
55Lake JohnsonWakeD3 ft-60
56West Fork Eno River ReservoirOrangeD3.8 ft-61
57Lake RaleighWakeD2.5 ft-62
58Toisnot ReservoirWilsonD2.3 ft-64
59Tuckertown ReservoirRowanD--62
60Back Creek LakeRandolphD--60
61Lake TilleryMontgomeryD--55
62Badin LakeMontgomeryD--57
63City PondAnsonD--61
64Lake FisherCabarrusD--60
65Lake ConcordCabarrusD--61
66Blewett Falls LakeAnsonD--66
67Kannapolis LakeRowanD--57
68Salem LakeForsythD--58
69Bunch LakeRandolphD--53
70Waterville LakeHaywoodD--61
71Lake JunaluskaHaywoodD--52
72Lake HickoryCatawbaD--55
73Lake DevinGranvilleD--59

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.