Danw Lake
Dallas County, AlabamaView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Danw Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 87 ft max depth
- Public access
Danw Lake in Dallas County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 31 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.1 µg/L.
Danw Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Dallas County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 87 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Dallas County, Danw Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2026-04-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Danw Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Danw Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Danw 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 3.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 31 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.1 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 31µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.1µg/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. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Danw Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~87 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by ADEM
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Danw Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
17,024 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
242 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
115 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.
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Stays near Danw Lake
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Fishing Danw Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2013–2023).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.47 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.26 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Danw Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hammermill Waste Treatment Dam (completed 1974), built primarily for other on the Tr-Alabama River; earth-type dam, 18 ft tall and 8,600 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 1,344 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,536 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- HAMMERMILL PAPER CO INC
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL01606 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.51 km)
Nearby Lakes in Dallas County
Frequently asked questions about Danw Lake
Where is Danw Lake?
- Danw Lake is a lake in Dallas County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Danw Lake?
- Danw Lake in Dallas County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 31 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.1 µg/L.
Is Danw Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Danw Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Danw Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 87 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Danw Lake?
- Public access to Danw Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Alabama's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
138 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC138 samples · 2013–2026
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)