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LakeQuality
A storm cloud deck moving over Slim Lake at dusk, the last light breaking through low on the horizon

Eutrophic Lakes in Tennessee

20 eutrophic lakes in Tennessee. High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity.

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. 20 Tennessee 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 carry higher phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings. The same nutrient richness that defines the trophic class shows up in those numbers.

#LakeCountyClarityDepthTSI
1Hiwassee River LakeBradley4.1 ft-55
2Tennessee River LakeRhea7.1 ft-51
3Tennessee River LakeKnox--55
4Tennessee River LakeRoane--53
5Boiling Fork Creek LakeFranklin--51
6Tennessee River LakeMarion7.6 ft-52
7Tennessee River LakeHenry--62
8Ocoee River LakePolk7.5 ft-54
9Clinch River LakeRoane--56
10Cumberland River LakeDavidson--65
11Cumberland River LakeWilson--55
12Cumberland River LakeStewart--62
13Cumberland River LakeCheatham--66
14Big Sandy River LakeBenton--64
15Beech River LakeDecatur--70
16Robertson Creek LakeHawkins--60
17Mckellar LakeShelby--67
18Watauga River LakeWashington--56
19Caney Creek LakeRoane--62
20Holston River LakeHawkins--64
All eutrophic lakes →Minnesota version →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →Michigan version →Iowa version →Ohio version →Pennsylvania version →New York version →Missouri version →Indiana version →North Dakota version →South Dakota version →Florida version →Colorado version →North Carolina version →Vermont version →Texas version →Oregon version →Arkansas version →Oklahoma version →Kansas version →Nebraska version →Nevada version →Arizona version →Idaho version →Montana version →New Mexico version →Alabama version →Virginia version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →Georgia version →Massachusetts version →Ontario version →Québec version →Nova Scotia version →British Columbia version →Newfoundland and Labrador version →All Tennessee lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.