Brunswick County Lake
Brunswick County, Virginia160 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Brunswick County Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
Brunswick County Lake in Brunswick County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.6 µg/L. Surface area: 160 acres.
Brunswick County Lake is a 160-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Brunswick County, Virginia. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Brunswick County, Brunswick County Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Brunswick County Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Brunswick County Lake 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 Brunswick County Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Brunswick County 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 2.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 28.6 µg/L. TSI 63.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 50µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 28.6µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Brunswick County Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
160 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Brunswick County Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Brunswick County Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Brunswick County Lake in Brunswick County, Virginia — 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 Brunswick County Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Brunswick County Lake
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Fishing Brunswick County Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2013–2026).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.7 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+1.89 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Brunswick County Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Brunswick Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Reedy Creek - VAHU6 CM18 Reedy Creek; earth-type dam, 25 ft tall and 620 ft long.
- Surface area
- 160 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,311 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,700 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 15.8 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA025001 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Brunswick County Lake 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: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAP-K08L_RDC01A98 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Brunswick County
Frequently asked questions about Brunswick County Lake
Where is Brunswick County Lake?
- Brunswick County Lake is a lake in Brunswick County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Brunswick County Lake?
- Brunswick County Lake in Brunswick County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.6 µg/L. Surface area: 160 acres.
Is Brunswick County Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Brunswick County Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
154 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
21VASWCB154 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