What are mesotrophic lakes in Virginia?

48 mesotrophic lakes in Virginia. Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

What does mesotrophic mean?

Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

Mesotrophic Lakes in Virginia

Mesotrophic lakes are the productive middle of the trophic scale — TSI between 40 and 50. Clear enough to be inviting, productive enough to support a strong fishery, with moderate phosphorus and a modest algal community that does not dominate the optical signal. 48 lakes in Virginia 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	Lower Blackwater River Lake	Franklin	A	12.1 ft	-	39
2	Dam Lake	Pittsylvania	A	10.5 ft	-	39
3	Sta B Lake	Mecklenburg	A	7.2 ft	-	43
4	Union Bridge Lake	Patrick	A	8.2 ft	-	41
5	Hidden Valley Lake	Washington	A	9.7 ft	-	41
6	Hunting Run Reservior Lake	Spotsylvania	A	8.2 ft	-	41
7	Above Dam Lake	Pulaski	A	9.2 ft	-	40
8	Cool Branch Lake	Franklin	A	10.5 ft	-	39
9	Laurel Bed Lake	Russell	A	9.8 ft	-	42
10	Confl. Blackwater River Lake	Bedford	A	9.8 ft	-	40
11	Mouth of Bull Run Lake	Franklin	A	10.2 ft	-	40
12	Lee Hall Reservoir	Newport News city	A	4.8 ft	-	52
13	Motts Run Reservoir	Spotsylvania	A	10.2 ft	-	40
14	Wise Lake	Wise	A	10.5 ft	-	40
15	West Arm Lake	Pulaski	A	9.2 ft	-	41
16	Smith Lake	Stafford	A	8.2 ft	-	41
17	Sta Lake	York	A	6.9 ft	-	47
18	Lake Keokee	Lee	A	9.7 ft	-	41
19	Hunting Run Reservoir	Spotsylvania	A	6.6 ft	-	42
20	Leesville Lakea-Topb-Middlec-Bot	Pittsylvania	A	5.2 ft	-	45
21	Sta Big Cherry Reservoir East of Big Stone	Wise	A	12.5 ft	-	39
22	Martinsville Reservoir	Henry	A	8.5 ft	-	41
23	Talbott Reservoir	Patrick	A	9.8 ft	-	41
24	Goose Creek Reservoir	Loudoun	A	2.1 ft	-	56
25	Little Creek Reserv Sta Lake	James City	A	9.5 ft	-	40
26	Pedlar River Reservoir	Amherst	A	7.5 ft	-	44
27	Beaverdam Creek Reservoir	Loudoun	A	5.4 ft	-	45
28	Upper Lake	Stafford	A	8.7 ft	-	41
29	Hungry Mother Lake Sta	Smyth	A	8.7 ft	-	42
30	Lake Witten	Tazewell	A	11.3 ft	-	39
31	Hardy Ford Lake	Franklin	C	3 ft	-	55
32	Lake Drummond	Chesapeake city	C	0.7 ft	-	65
33	Sta Mouth of Interior Ditch Lake	Chesapeake city	C	0.7 ft	-	65
34	Lake Gaston	Mecklenburg	C	4.3 ft	-	49
35	Middle Blackwater River Lake	Franklin	C	5.9 ft	-	49
36	Lake Drummond Sta Mouth of Feeder Dit	Chesapeake city	C	0.7 ft	-	65
37	Dam Lake	Pulaski	C	8.5 ft	-	47
38	Peak Creek Lake	Pulaski	C	5.6 ft	-	48
39	Mouth Peak Cr. Lake	Pulaski	C	6.9 ft	-	49
40	Gills Creek Lake	Franklin	C	6.2 ft	-	48
41	Chickahominy Lake	Charles City	C	2.6 ft	-	59
42	Leesville Lakea-Rmp Bedford	Bedford	C	4.9 ft	-	47
43	Lake Frederick-Right Arm	Frederick	C	9.2 ft	-	46
44	Holiday Lake Sta	Buckingham	C	6.4 ft	-	48
45	Fairy Stone Lake	Patrick	C	6.4 ft	-	47
46	Station A-Chris Green Lake Sta A Alberm	Albemarle	C	7.5 ft	-	44
47	Burke Lake	Fairfax	C	4.9 ft	-	52
48	Lowmans Ferry Rd Br. Lake	Pulaski	C	4.6 ft	-	51

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 →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 →Tennessee version →Alabama 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 Virginia lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.