Dam Lake
Franklin County, Virginia2,880 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
Dam Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.7 µg/L. Surface area: 2880 acres.
Dam Lake is a 2,880-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 12 other monitored lakes in Franklin County, Dam Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2024-10-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Dam Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12.1 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping1 public campground nearby
- Big water2,880 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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. Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Dam 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 Dam Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Dam Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.7 µg/L. TSI 38.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.7µg/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. | 38 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
2,880 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Virginia DEQ
No bathymetric survey has been published for Dam Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Philpott MarinaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Dam Lake
- Philpott Park1.0 kmReserve
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Dam Lake
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Fishing Dam Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 7 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Stable7 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.35 µg/L/yr7 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable+0.02 µg/L/yr7 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Philpott Dam (completed 1953), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Smith River; gravity-type dam, 220 ft tall and 920 ft long.
- Surface area
- 2,880 ac
- Normal storage
- 166,190 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 318,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 212 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Wilmington District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Hydroelectric;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA089001 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.2 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Dam 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 VAW-L51L_SRE01A02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Franklin County
Frequently asked questions about Dam Lake
Where is Dam Lake?
- Dam Lake is a lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Dam Lake?
- Dam Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.7 µg/L. Surface area: 2880 acres.
Is Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Dam Lake?
- Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Philpott Marina. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Dam Lake?
- Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Virginia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Dam Lake?
- Dam Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Philpott Park. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
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Where this data comes from
200 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB200 samples · 2012–2024
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 (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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles