Carthage City Lake
Moore County, North Carolina9 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Carthage City Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Limited data
Carthage City Lake in Moore County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15.5 µg/L. Surface area: 9 acres.
Carthage City Lake is a 9-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Moore County, North Carolina. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Moore County, Carthage City Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2023-09-14. 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 Carthage City Lake 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 Carthage City Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Carthage City Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15.5 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 15.5µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Carthage City Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
9 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Carthage City Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Carthage City Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Carthage City Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Carthage Pond Dam #1 (completed 1945), built primarily for water supply on the Killett's Creek; earth-type dam, 20 ft tall and 550 ft long.
- Surface area
- 9 ac
- Normal storage
- 58 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 72 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.04 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Town of Carthage
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC03547 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.11 km)
Nearby Lakes in Moore County
Frequently asked questions about Carthage City Lake
Where is Carthage City Lake?
- Carthage City Lake is a lake in Moore 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 Carthage City Lake?
- Carthage City Lake in Moore County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15.5 µg/L. Surface area: 9 acres.
Is Carthage City Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Carthage City Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ20 samples · 2023
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.