Chickahominy Lake
Charles City County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Chickahominy Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Chickahominy Lake in Charles City County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 85 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.3 µg/L.
Chickahominy Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Charles City County, Virginia. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Charles City County, Chickahominy Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-23. 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. Chickahominy Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Chickahominy Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Chickahominy Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Chickahominy 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 2.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 85 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.3 µg/L. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 85µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.3µg/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. | 59 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
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Fishing Chickahominy Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2012–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.05 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.43 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Chickahominy Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAP-G07L_CHK01A00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Charles City County
Frequently asked questions about Chickahominy Lake
Where is Chickahominy Lake?
- Chickahominy Lake is a lake in Charles City County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Chickahominy Lake?
- Chickahominy Lake in Charles City County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 85 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.3 µg/L.
Is Chickahominy Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Chickahominy Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
80 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2012–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB80 samples · 2012–2026
Analytical methods
- Tyler, John. 1968. The secchi disk, Limnology and Oceanograpy, 13(1):1-6.
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database