Should Your Lake
Be on a Diet?

''Nutrient-rich" is a good sign in food,
but a warning sign in lakes. High
levels of the nutrients
phosphorus and nitrogen
can contribute to
excessive algae growth
and rob water of its
oxygen. EPA finds that
more than 100,000 lakes
have high levels of phosphorus or
nitrogen. These lakes are more likely
to have degraded populations of
small aquatic creatures, like mayflies
and snails, that are essential to the
food web of lakes.

What You Can Do

How to Learn More

Know plant
and soil needs
before applying
fertilizers, then
only use with care.
Choose phosphate-
free household
products. Maintain
your septic tank.

Learn more at epa.gov/
nutrientpollution.

In the last 15 years, EPA and its
partners conducted two large scientific
studies of the environmental
conditions in and around U.S. lakes. At
EPA's website for the National Lakes
Assessment, you
can view the
explore the
data, and more.

Visit: epa.gov/
national-aquatic-
resource-
surveys/nla.

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