Burns Lake Deep
Rio Arriba County, New Mexico11 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Burns Lake Deep. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- Limited data
Burns Lake Deep in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 23.5 µg/L. Surface area: 11 acres.
Burns Lake Deep is a 11-acre lake in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2014-10-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Burns Lake Deep is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Burns Lake Deep is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Burns Lake Deep
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Burns Lake Deep, 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. Chlorophyll-a 23.5 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 | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 23.5µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Burns Lake Deep
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
11 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Burns Lake Deep, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Burns Lake Deep
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2014). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Burns Lake Deep is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Laguna Del Campo Dam (completed 1940), built primarily for recreation on the Rio Brazos-Os; earth-type dam, 36 ft tall and 500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 11 ac
- Normal storage
- 100 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 178 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.75 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH
All listed purposes: Recreation;Irrigation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00313 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.09 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Burns Lake Deep 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: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NM-9000.B_025 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Rio Arriba County
Frequently asked questions about Burns Lake Deep
Where is Burns Lake Deep?
- Burns Lake Deep is a lake in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Burns Lake Deep?
- Burns Lake Deep in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 23.5 µg/L. Surface area: 11 acres.
Is Burns Lake Deep safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Burns Lake Deep is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2014. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX8 samples · 2012–2014
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