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LakeQuality

Big Pine Lake

Burlington County, New Jersey40 acresView mapDirections

NJDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Big Pine Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
4.9 ft
Clearer than most
Secchi · sampled 2024
Phosphorus
80 µg/L
Typical for New Jersey
Measured by NJDEP
Chlorophyll-a
13.3 µg/L
Typical for New Jersey
Measured by NJDEP
Area
40 acres
Surface area
Type
Eutrophic
Trophic class
  • Eutrophic
  • Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
  • Limited data

Big Pine Lake in Burlington County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 80 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.3 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.

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Big Pine Lake is a 40-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Burlington County, New Jersey. Compared to the 11 other monitored lakes in Burlington County, Big Pine Lake ranks #9 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2024-10-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Bacteria advisory

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. Big Pine Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury, pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Big Pine Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Big Pine Lake

These are the measurements NJDEP publishes for Big Pine Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Murky, only visible to about 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 80 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13.3 µg/L. TSI 59.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)4.9ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus80µg/LPoor
GoodFairPoor
Chlorophyll-a (algae)13.3µg/LFair
GoodFairPoor
Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.59Eutrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Ask about Big Pine Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Surface area

40 acres

No bathymetric survey has been published for Big Pine Lake, so its depth is not documented here.

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Big Pine Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Big Pine Lake in Burlington County, New Jersey — 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 Big Pine Lake are listed below.

Top-rated places to stay near Big Pine Lake

Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

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Fishing Big Pine Lake

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Big Pine Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Pine Mill Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Jacks Run; earth-type dam, 18 ft tall and 300 ft long.

Surface area
40 ac
Normal storage
95 ac-ft
Drainage area
6.5 sq mi
Hazard class
Low
Owner
Township of Pemberton

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NJ00049 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.43 km)

EPA Impairment Status

Big Pine Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Impaired biota (cause unknown)MercuryPathogens (E. coli, fecal)pH / acidity

Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption, Recreation.

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NJ02040202020020-01 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Burlington County

Frequently asked questions about Big Pine Lake

Where is Big Pine Lake?

Big Pine Lake is a lake in Burlington County, New Jersey. Its water-quality measurements are published by NJDEP and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Big Pine Lake?

Big Pine Lake in Burlington County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 80 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.3 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Big Pine Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Pine Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury, pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

44 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.

Collected and reported by

  • NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological MonitoringNJDEP_BFBM44 samples · 2024

Analytical methods

  • Phosphorus by Colorimetry
  • 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (3)

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