Buckingham Lake
Albany County, New YorkView mapDirections
NY DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Buckingham Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Buckingham Lake in Albany County, New York has water-quality measurements published by NY DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility.
Buckingham Lake is a lake in Albany County, New York.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-26. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Buckingham Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Buckingham Lake
These are the measurements NY DEC publishes for Buckingham 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 2.5 ft of visibility. TSI 64.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.5ft | 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. | 64 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Fishing Buckingham Lake
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
38 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Buckingham Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 5 classified by the EPA as major dischargers. 14 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Albany County Water Purification District - South WwtpAlbany County · 3.3 mi away · NPDES NY0026867MajorRecent violation
- Empire Power PlantRensselaer County · 3.6 mi away · NPDES NY0267546MajorRecent violation
- Albany County Water Purification District - North Wastewater Treatment PlantMenands · 4 mi away · NPDES NY0026875MajorRecent violation
- East Greenbush (T) WwtpEast Greenbush · 4.2 mi away · NPDES NY0026034MajorRecent violation
- Rensselaer County Sd#1 WwtpTroy · 5 mi away · NPDES NY0087971MajorRecent violation
- City Of Albany Combined Sewer OverflowsAlbany, City Of · 2.2 mi away · NPDES NY0025747Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Albany County
Frequently asked questions about Buckingham Lake
Where is Buckingham Lake?
- Buckingham Lake is a lake in Albany County, New York. Its water-quality measurements are published by NY DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Buckingham Lake?
- Buckingham Lake in Albany County, New York has water-quality measurements published by NY DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility.
Is Buckingham Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS8 samples · 2020
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)