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

#LakeCountyGradeClarityDepthTSI
1Hiwassee River LakeBradleyC4.1 ft-55
2Tennessee River LakeRheaC7.1 ft-51
3Tennessee River LakeKnoxC--55
4Tennessee River LakeRoaneC--53
5Boiling Fork Creek LakeFranklinC--51
6Tennessee River LakeMarionD7.6 ft-52
7Tennessee River LakeHenryD--62
8Ocoee River LakePolkD7.5 ft-54
9Clinch River LakeRoaneD--56
10Cumberland River LakeDavidsonD--65
11Cumberland River LakeWilsonD--55
12Cumberland River LakeStewartD--62
13Cumberland River LakeCheathamD--66
14Big Sandy River LakeBentonD--64
15Beech River LakeDecaturD--70
16Robertson Creek LakeHawkinsD--60
17Mckellar LakeShelbyD--67
18Watauga River LakeWashingtonD--56
19Caney Creek LakeRoaneD--62
20Holston River LakeHawkinsD--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.