Cole Pond-Beach
Merrimack County, New Hampshire15 acresView mapDirections
NHDES publishes the water-quality measurements for Cole Pond-Beach. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Cole Pond-Beach in Merrimack County, New Hampshire has water-quality measurements published by NHDES, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 9.9 µg/L. Surface area: 14.6 acres.
Cole Pond-Beach is a 15-acre lake in Merrimack County, New Hampshire.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2020-07-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cole Pond-Beach is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cole Pond-Beach is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Cole Pond-Beach
These are the measurements NHDES publishes for Cole Pond-Beach, 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 9.9 µg/L. TSI 37.
| 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 | 9.9µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Cole Pond-Beach
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
15 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Cole Pond-Beach, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Cole Pond-Beach
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cole Pond-Beach is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cole Pond Dam (completed 1973), built primarily for recreation on the Tr Black River; concrete-type dam, 10 ft tall and 110 ft long.
- Surface area
- 14.6 ac
- Normal storage
- 87.5 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 131.15 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.08 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- RAGGED MOUNTAIN FISH AND GAME CLUB
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NH00622 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.05 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Cole Pond-Beach is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NHLAK700030403-03 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Merrimack County
Frequently asked questions about Cole Pond-Beach
Where is Cole Pond-Beach?
- Cole Pond-Beach is a lake in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Its water-quality measurements are published by NHDES and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cole Pond-Beach?
- Cole Pond-Beach in Merrimack County, New Hampshire has water-quality measurements published by NHDES, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 9.9 µg/L. Surface area: 14.6 acres.
Is Cole Pond-Beach safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cole Pond-Beach is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- New Hampshire Department Of Environmental Services (BEACH)
111133001 sample · 2020
Analytical methods
- 10-115-01-1 F ~ LACHAT; Total Phosphorus- Manual persulfate digest
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database