Alip Lake
Pickens County, Alabama8,300 acresView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Alip Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Hydrologic alteration
- 58 ft max depth
- Public access
Alip Lake in Pickens County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 32.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14.1 µg/L. Surface area: 8300 acres.
Alip Lake is a 8,300-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Pickens County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 58 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 4 public boat landings. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Pickens County, Alip Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2025-10-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Alip Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch4 documented ramps
- Camping1 public campground nearby
- Big water8,300 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Alip Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for hydrologic alteration, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Alip Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Alip Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Alip Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.4 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 32.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 14.1 µg/L. TSI 58.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 32.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 14.1µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 58 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Alip Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~58 ft est.
Surface area
8,300 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ADEM
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Alip Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
5,802 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
37.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
138 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Pickensville CampgroundPublic
- Pickensville Day UsePublic
- Raleigh RyanPublic
- Ringo BluffPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Alip Lake
- Pickensville Cg (pickensville Al)1.2 kmReserve
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Alip Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Alip Lake in Pickens County, Alabama — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Alip Lake
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Fishing Alip Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2014–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.53 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.07 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Alip Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam (completed 1979), built primarily for navigation on the Tombigbee; gravity-type dam, 75 ft tall and 1,300 ft long.
- Surface area
- 8,300 ac
- Normal storage
- 60,400 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 60,400 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5,750 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- USACE - Mobile District
All listed purposes: Navigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL01979 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.96 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Alip Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption, Recreation, Other.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AL03160106-0308-101 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Pickens County
Frequently asked questions about Alip Lake
Where is Alip Lake?
- Alip Lake is a lake in Pickens County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Alip Lake?
- Alip Lake in Pickens County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 32.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14.1 µg/L. Surface area: 8300 acres.
Is Alip Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Alip Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for hydrologic alteration, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Alip Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Alip Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 58 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 8300 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Alip Lake?
- Alip Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Pickensville Campground, Pickensville Day Use, Raleigh Ryan, Ringo Bluff. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Alip Lake?
- Alip Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Alabama's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Alip Lake?
- Alip Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Pickensville Cg (pickensville Al). This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
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Where this data comes from
146 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC146 samples · 2014–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles