Berkeley Lake
Denver County, ColoradoView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Berkeley Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Berkeley Lake in Denver County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 53 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 34.1 µg/L.
Berkeley Lake is a lake in Denver County, Colorado.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2022-07-12. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Berkeley Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, metals (other than mercury), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Berkeley Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Berkeley Lake
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Berkeley 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 1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 53 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 34.1 µg/L. TSI 68.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 53µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 34.1µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 68 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
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Fishing Berkeley Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Berkeley 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: Aquatic life.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit COSPUS17a_D · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Denver County
Frequently asked questions about Berkeley Lake
Where is Berkeley Lake?
- Berkeley Lake is a lake in Denver County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Berkeley Lake?
- Berkeley Lake in Denver County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 53 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 34.1 µg/L.
Is Berkeley Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Berkeley Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, metals (other than mercury), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX4 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk depth measurement
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrogen in Water by Pyrolysis Detection
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