Echo Lake
Union County, New Jersey11 acresView mapDirections
NJDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Echo Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- Limited data
Echo Lake in Union County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 115.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 19.5 µg/L. Surface area: 11 acres.
Echo Lake is a 11-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Union County, New Jersey. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Union County, Echo Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2023-10-12. 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. Echo Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Echo Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Echo Lake
These are the measurements NJDEP publishes for Echo 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 2.8 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 115.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 19.5 µg/L. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 116µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 19.5µg/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. | 65 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Echo Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
11 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Echo Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Echo Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Echo Lake in Union County, New Jersey — 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 Echo Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Echo Lake
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Fishing Echo Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Echo Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Echo Lake Dam (completed 1930), built primarily for recreation on the Normahegan Brook; concrete-type dam, 20 ft tall and 130 ft long.
- Surface area
- 11 ac
- Normal storage
- 45 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- County of Union
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NJ00133 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Echo 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: Drinking water, Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NJ02030104050050-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Union County
Frequently asked questions about Echo Lake
Where is Echo Lake?
- Echo Lake is a lake in Union County, New Jersey. Its water-quality measurements are published by NJDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Echo Lake?
- Echo Lake in Union County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 115.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 19.5 µg/L. Surface area: 11 acres.
Is Echo Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Echo Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
52 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2022–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring
NJDEP_BFBM52 samples · 2022–2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 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