Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin
Prince Edward County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin in Prince Edward County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 12.1 µg/L.
Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Prince Edward County, Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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. Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin 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 Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin, 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 12.1 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 12.1µg/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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Recreation & Access
- Briery Creek- 701 LandingPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin
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Fishing Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 7 years of monitoring (2013–2026).
Water clarity
Stable7 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.14 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.47 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin 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: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAP-J05L_BRI01L98 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Prince Edward County
Frequently asked questions about Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin
Where is Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin?
- Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin is a lake in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin?
- Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin in Prince Edward County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 12.1 µg/L.
Is Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin?
- Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Briery Creek- 701 Landing. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin?
- Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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 Briery Creek Lake Upper End of Lake Prin across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
169 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB169 samples · 2013–2026
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
- 446.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophylls and Pheopigments in Phytoplankton by Spectrophotometry
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory