Beech River Lake
Henderson County, Tennessee877 acresView mapDirections
TDEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Beech River Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 52 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Beech River Lake in Henderson County, Tennessee has water-quality measurements published by TDEC, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L. Surface area: 877 acres.
Beech River Lake is a 877-acre lake in Henderson County, Tennessee with an estimated average depth of about 52 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TDEC, last sampled 2012-07-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Beech River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Beech River Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Beech River Lake
These are the measurements TDEC publishes for Beech River Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 14 µg/L. TSI 42.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 14µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 42 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Beech River Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~52 ft est.
Surface area
877 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by TDEC
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Tennessee has not published bathymetry for Beech River Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
21 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
10.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
469 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.
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Fishing Beech River Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Beech River Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Beech Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Beech River; earth-type dam, 44 ft tall and 1,615 ft long.
- Surface area
- 877 ac
- Normal storage
- 11,070 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 15,500 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 15.74 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- TVA
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TN07705 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Beech River Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit TN06040001BEECHLK_1000 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Henderson County
Frequently asked questions about Beech River Lake
Where is Beech River Lake?
- Beech River Lake is a lake in Henderson County, Tennessee. Its water-quality measurements are published by TDEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Beech River Lake?
- Beech River Lake in Henderson County, Tennessee has water-quality measurements published by TDEC, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L. Surface area: 877 acres.
Is Beech River Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Beech River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Beech River Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Beech River Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 52 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 877 acres.
Can I fish at Beech River Lake?
- Public access to Beech River Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Tennessee's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Beech River Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2012. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- TDEC Division of Water Resources
TDECWR_WQX1 sample · 2012
Analytical methods
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid 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)