Coddle Creek Reservoir
Cabarrus County, North Carolina1,300 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Coddle Creek Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · pH / acidity
- 37 ft max depth
- Limited data
Coddle Creek Reservoir in Cabarrus County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32 µg/L. Surface area: 1300 acres.
Coddle Creek Reservoir is a 1,300-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Cabarrus County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Cabarrus County, Coddle Creek Reservoir ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-09-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Coddle Creek Reservoir covers about 1,300 acres in Cabarrus County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Coddle Creek Reservoir on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Coddle Creek Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Big water1,300 acres
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. Coddle Creek Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Coddle Creek Reservoir 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 Coddle Creek Reservoir
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Coddle Creek Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 32 µg/L. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 32µg/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. | 59 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Coddle Creek Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Surface area
1,300 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Coddle Creek Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
48 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
11.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
646 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 Coddle Creek Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Coddle Creek Reservoir in Cabarrus County, North Carolina — 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 Coddle Creek Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Coddle Creek Reservoir
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Coddle Creek Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Coddle Creek Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Don T. Howell Dam (completed 1993), built primarily for water supply on the Coddle Creek; earth-type dam, 55 ft tall and 2,365 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,300 ac
- Max storage
- 36,400 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 47.6 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Cabarrus County Water & Sewer Authority
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC04901 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Coddle Creek Reservoir 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NC13-17-6-(1.5)b · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cabarrus County
Frequently asked questions about Coddle Creek Reservoir
Where is Coddle Creek Reservoir?
- Coddle Creek Reservoir is a lake in Cabarrus 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 Coddle Creek Reservoir?
- Coddle Creek Reservoir in Cabarrus County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32 µg/L. Surface area: 1300 acres.
Is Coddle Creek Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Coddle Creek Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Coddle Creek Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Coddle Creek Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 37 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 1300 acres.
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Where this data comes from
46 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ46 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)