Bvlj Lake
Jefferson County, AlabamaView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Bvlj Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 50 ft max depth
- Limited data
Bvlj Lake in Jefferson County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 141 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 40.3 µg/L.
Bvlj Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Jefferson County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 50 feet. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Jefferson County, Bvlj Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2017-10-26. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Bvlj Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Bvlj Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Bvlj 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 2.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 141 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 40.3 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 141µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 40.3µg/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. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Bvlj Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~50 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Bvlj Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
73 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
146 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
522 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 Bvlj Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Bvlj Lake in Jefferson County, Alabama — 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 Bvlj Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Bvlj Lake
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Fishing Bvlj Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Bvlj Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Bayview Lake (completed 1910), built primarily for water supply on the Village Creek; gravity-type dam, 100 ft tall and 550 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 12,800 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 14,200 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- T. C. I., US STEEL CO.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL01256 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.96 km)
Nearby Lakes in Jefferson County
Frequently asked questions about Bvlj Lake
Where is Bvlj Lake?
- Bvlj Lake is a lake in Jefferson County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Bvlj Lake?
- Bvlj Lake in Jefferson County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 141 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 40.3 µg/L.
Is Bvlj Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Bvlj Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Bvlj Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 50 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Bvlj Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
48 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC48 samples · 2017
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)