Gregg Lake is located in the Town of Antrim in New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region.
Gregg Lake hosts Antrim’s popular public swimming beach and boat launch, a community of seasonal and year-round homes and a thriving youth camp. The tranquil warm-water fishery attracts anglers and wildlife, including nesting loons, and nature enthusiasts paddle the wooded shoreline and marshes. According to NH Fish and Game, the Gregg Lake watershed contains some of the “Highest Ranked (Wildlife) Habitat” in the state. However, elevated phosphorus and chlorophyll-a and low dissolved oxygen levels put Gregg Lake in the “Slightly Bad” category for water quality and threaten the lake’s capacity to support wildlife, according to the NH Department of Environmental Services. Fortunately, Gregg Lake is also ranked high in “Recovery Potential” by NHDES.
Algal bloom in Gregg Lake, July 31, 2017.
The Gregg Lake Watershed Management Plan Committee has received grant funding from NHDES to support development of a watershed management plan to lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a levels and reverse the decline in water quality. Two lake associations and the town already actively support mitigation through Lake Host, Weed Watch and VLAP water testing programs. A written Watershed Management Plan will guide a coalition of stakeholders, including the Antrim Parks and Recreation Commission, Conservation Commission and Highway Department, lake associations, property owners and recreational lake users, to identify pollution sources and set specific long-term goals for reducing pollutant loads and restoring Gregg Lake to its highest potential wildlife and recreation uses.