Lake and Pond Water Quality Monitoring
Program Background
Current Lake and Pond Monitoring Efforts
National Lakes Assessment (NLA)
The DEEP Water Monitoring Program participates in the USEPA’s National Lakes Assessment (NLA) probabilistically based surveys. The goals of this monitoring project are to assess the condition of lakes nationally by determining what percentage of the lakes are in good, fair, and poor condition based on trophic, ecological, and recreational indicators. In addition, these data can be used for state assessments, to determine the importance of key stressors, establish a baseline for future monitoring of lakes, to assess trends in lake status in the past three decades, and to help build state and tribal capacity for monitoring and assessment programs. Lakes are sampled for a variety of limnological, biological, and physical habitat parameters.
The following is a list of lakes monitored in Connecticut to-date as part of National Lakes Assessment surveys.
Lake/Pond Name | 2007 | 2012 | 2017 | 2022 |
Beardsley Pond | X | X | ||
Billings Lake (North Stonington) | X | X | ||
Bissonette Pond | X | X | X | |
Columbia Lake | X | |||
Crystal Lake (Winchester) | ||||
Deep Lake | X | |||
Grays Pond | X | |||
Groton Reservoir | X | |||
Halls Pond (Eastford) | X | X | ||
Halls Pond (Willington) | X | X | ||
Knowlton Pond | X | |||
Lake Chaffee (Ashford) | X | |||
Lake Kenosia | X | |||
Lake Waramaug | X | |||
Lake Zoar | X | X | X | |
Long Meadow Pond | X | |||
Messerschmidt Pond | X | |||
Morris Reservoir | X | X | X | |
Pachaug Pond | X | |||
Riga Lake | X | X | X | |
Roseland Lake | X | X | ||
Unnamed Lake (Durham) | X | |||
Union Pond | X | |||
Wauregan Reservoir (Quinebaug Lake) | X | |||
West Hill Pond | X | X | X | |
Whites Pond (Suffield) | X | |||
Wononpakook Lake | X | |||
Wononscopmuc Lake | X |
New England Lakes and Ponds Project (NELP)
Related DEEP Links:
- Connecticut Lake Watch (Volunteer Lake Monitoring)
- Lake Water Quality Management
- Blue-Green Algae Blooms (Cyanobacteria)
- Lake and Large River Electrofishing Survey
- Connecticut Lake and Pond Bathymetry Maps (GIS Data Layer Download)
- Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Invasive Aquatic Plant Program (CAES IAPP) Aquatic Plant Survey Program for Connecticut Lakes
Sources of Additional Information:
- Connecticut Federation of Lakes
- Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Workgroup of the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC)
- New England Chapter North American Lake Management Society
- North American Lake Management Society
Contact Information
Monitoring Program Supervisor
Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
79 Elm Street, Hartford CT 06106
mary.becker@ct.gov