What are mesotrophic lakes in North Carolina?

29 mesotrophic lakes in North Carolina. Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

What does mesotrophic mean?

Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

Mesotrophic Lakes in North Carolina

Most well-managed working lakes register as mesotrophic — the band that balances productivity with clarity. 29 lakes in North Carolina sit in the mesotrophic band. About 0% are deep (50+ ft); the rest are shallower basins where watershed management keeps nutrients from pushing the system into eutrophy.

Mesotrophic lakes tend to grade B or C on our A–F scale — the productive-but-clear band lines up with the middle of the letter grades.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth	TSI
1	Sutton Lake	New Hanover	A	10 ft	-	46
2	Center of Sutton Lake	New Hanover	A	6.7 ft	-	50
3	Lake Waccamaw	Columbus	A	-	-	48
4	Rockingham City Lake	Richmond	A	-	-	51
5	Lake Julian	Buncombe	A	-	-	46
6	Water Lake	Richmond	A	-	-	42
7	Burnett Reservoir	Buncombe	A	-	-	44
8	Catawba Riv Lake	Mecklenburg	C	6.6 ft	-	45
9	Buckeye Lake	Watauga	C	7.5 ft	-	48
10	Asu Lake	Watauga	C	12.3 ft	-	47
11	Lake Sequoyah	Macon	C	5.4 ft	-	52
12	Chatuge Lake	Clay	C	11.6 ft	-	44
13	Belews Lake	Stokes	C	11.6 ft	-	46
14	Hanging Rock Lake	Stokes	C	5.9 ft	-	51
15	Fontana Lake	Swain	C	13.6 ft	-	46
16	Fontana Lake	Graham	C	14.1 ft	-	46
17	Nantahala Lake	Macon	C	12.5 ft	-	45
18	Santeetlah Lake	Graham	C	14.3 ft	-	45
19	Apalachia Lake	Cherokee	C	13.1 ft	-	45
20	Roanoke Rapids Lake	Halifax	C	6.1 ft	-	51
21	Thorpe Reservoir	Jackson	C	8.7 ft	-	49
22	Bear Creek Reservoir	Jackson	C	7.7 ft	-	48
23	Lake Ben Johnson	Orange	C	3.3 ft	-	56
24	Phelps Lake	Washington	C	3.6 ft	-	56
25	Lake James	Burke	C	-	-	51
26	Mountain Island Lake	Gaston	C	-	-	48
27	Allen Creek Reservoir	Haywood	C	-	-	49
28	Beetree Reservoir	Buncombe	C	-	-	48
29	Newton City Lake	Catawba	C	-	-	48

All mesotrophic 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 →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 →Tennessee version →Alabama version →Virginia version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →Georgia version →Massachusetts version →Ontario version →Québec version →All North Carolina lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.