Forty-six states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia rated lake water quality in their 2000 Section 305(b) reports. These states assessed 17.3 million acres of lakes, reservoirs, and ponds, which equals 43% of the 40.6 million acres of lakes in the nation. The summary information presented in this chapter applies strictly to the portion of the nation’s lakes assessed by the states and tribes. EPA cannot make generalizations about the health of all of our nation’s lakes based on data extracted from the 305(b) reports.

• 2000 Lakes, Reservoirs and Ponds Summary (PDF)(8 pp, 672 K, 02-28-2003)
  A summary of the nation’s lakes assessed by the states and tribes.