Banister Lakesta
Halifax County, Virginia400 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Banister Lakesta. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 31 ft max depth
- Public access
Banister Lakesta in Halifax County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.4 µg/L. Surface area: 400 acres.
Banister Lakesta is a 400-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Halifax County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Halifax County, Banister Lakesta ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2022-10-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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. Banister Lakesta is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Banister Lakesta is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Banister Lakesta
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Banister Lakesta, 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13.4 µg/L. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 40µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 13.4µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Banister Lakesta
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 ft est.
Surface area
400 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Virginia DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Virginia has not published bathymetry for Banister Lakesta.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
505 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
7.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
374 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Banister Lakesta
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Banister Lakesta in Halifax County, Virginia — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Banister Lakesta are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Banister Lakesta
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Fishing Banister Lakesta
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2015–2022).
Water clarity
Stable4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-10 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.6 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Banister Lakesta is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Halifax (completed 1921), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Banister; gravity-type dam, 37 ft tall and 669 ft long.
- Surface area
- 400 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,510 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,510 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 514 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Banister Hydro, Inc.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA083001 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.36 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Banister Lakesta is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L71L_BAN03L00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Halifax County
Frequently asked questions about Banister Lakesta
Where is Banister Lakesta?
- Banister Lakesta is a lake in Halifax County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Banister Lakesta?
- Banister Lakesta in Halifax County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.4 µg/L. Surface area: 400 acres.
Is Banister Lakesta safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Banister Lakesta is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Banister Lakesta?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Banister Lakesta, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 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 400 acres.
Can I fish at Banister Lakesta?
- Public access to Banister Lakesta is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Virginia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Banister Lakesta across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
70 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB70 samples · 2015–2022
Analytical methods
- Tyler, John. 1968. The secchi disk, Limnology and Oceanograpy, 13(1):1-6.
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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)