Calderwood Lake
Blount County, Tennessee570 acresView mapDirections
TDEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Calderwood Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 47 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Calderwood Lake in Blount County, Tennessee has water-quality measurements published by TDEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.4 µg/L. Surface area: 570 acres.
Calderwood Lake is a 570-acre mesotrophic lake in Blount County, Tennessee with an estimated average depth of about 47 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TDEC, last sampled 2024-11-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Calderwood Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water16.4 ft of visibility
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 Calderwood Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Calderwood Lake
These are the measurements TDEC publishes for Calderwood Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.4 µg/L. TSI 43.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 16.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 43 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Calderwood Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~47 ft est.
Surface area
570 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by TDEC
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Tennessee has not published bathymetry for Calderwood Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,841 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
11.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,125 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 Calderwood Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Calderwood Lake in Blount County, Tennessee — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Calderwood Lake
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Fishing Calderwood Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2019–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.08 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Calderwood Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Calderwood (completed 1930), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Little Tennessee; arch-type dam, 230 ft tall and 916 ft long.
- Surface area
- 570 ac
- Normal storage
- 41,100 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 43,500 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,856 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Brookfield Renewable Energy Group (ARO)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TN00906 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Blount County
Frequently asked questions about Calderwood Lake
Where is Calderwood Lake?
- Calderwood Lake is a lake in Blount County, Tennessee. Its water-quality measurements are published by TDEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Calderwood Lake?
- Calderwood Lake in Blount County, Tennessee has water-quality measurements published by TDEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.4 µg/L. Surface area: 570 acres.
Is Calderwood Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Calderwood Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Calderwood Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 47 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 570 acres.
Can I fish at Calderwood Lake?
- Public access to Calderwood Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Tennessee's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Calderwood Lake across LakeQuality
2 documented falls within 16.2 mi, nearest Abrams Falls
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Tennessee's top lakes, each with its readings
Tennessee's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
Planning a trip around Great Smoky Mountains?
Calderwood Lake is about 27 miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Great Smoky Mountains →More lakes in Tennessee
Other Lakes in Tennessee
Mesotrophic Lakes in Tennessee
Where this data comes from
26 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ26 samples · 2014–2024
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)