Broadford Run Lake
Garrett County, Maryland138 acresView mapDirections
MDE publishes the water-quality measurements for Broadford Run Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Algal growth
- Limited data
Broadford Run Lake in Garrett County, Maryland has water-quality measurements published by MDE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.4 ft visibility. Surface area: 138 acres.
Broadford Run Lake is a 138-acre lake in Garrett County, Maryland. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2017-10-23. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Broadford Run Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Broadford Run Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Maryland Department of the Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Broadford Run Lake
These are the measurements MDE publishes for Broadford Run 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 3.4 ft. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading 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. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Broadford Run Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
138 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Broadford Run Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Broadford Run Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2016–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Broadford Run Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Little Youghiogheny Site 6 (Broadford) (completed 1971), built primarily for water supply on the Broad Ford Run; earth-type dam, 60 ft tall and 1,160 ft long.
- Surface area
- 138 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,410 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.8 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Town of Oakland
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Other;Recreation;Flood Risk Reduction.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MD00036 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.11 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Broadford Run 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: Drinking water, Aquatic life.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MD-050202020026-Broadford_Lake · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Garrett County
Frequently asked questions about Broadford Run Lake
Where is Broadford Run Lake?
- Broadford Run Lake is a lake in Garrett County, Maryland. Its water-quality measurements are published by MDE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Broadford Run Lake?
- Broadford Run Lake in Garrett County, Maryland has water-quality measurements published by MDE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.4 ft visibility. Surface area: 138 acres.
Is Broadford Run Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Broadford Run Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
216 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples216 samples · 2016–2017
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