Buckhorn Reservoir
Wilson County, North CarolinaView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Buckhorn Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 38 ft max depth
Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 31 µg/L.
Buckhorn Reservoir is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Wilson County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet. Phosphorus level is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Wilson County, Buckhorn Reservoir ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2025-09-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Buckhorn Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Buckhorn Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Buckhorn Reservoir
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Buckhorn Reservoir, 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 31 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) | 31µg/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 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Buckhorn Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~38 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Buckhorn Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
156 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
2,212 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
17.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
148 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Buckhorn Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson County, North Carolina — 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 Buckhorn Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Buckhorn Reservoir
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Fishing Buckhorn Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2020–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+2 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.6 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Buckhorn Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Buckhorn Lake Dam, built primarily for water supply on the Contentnea Creek; earth-type dam, 20 ft tall and 600 ft long.
- Drainage area
- 160 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Wilson
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC01379 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Wilson County
Frequently asked questions about Buckhorn Reservoir
Where is Buckhorn Reservoir?
- Buckhorn Reservoir is a lake in Wilson County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Buckhorn Reservoir?
- Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 31 µg/L.
Is Buckhorn Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Buckhorn Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Buckhorn Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Buckhorn Reservoir across LakeQuality
More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Hypereutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
73 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ73 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)