Ellf Lake
Franklin County, AlabamaView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Ellf Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 37 ft max depth
- Limited data
Ellf Lake in Franklin County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 18 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.5 µg/L.
Ellf Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Franklin County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2023-10-18. 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Ellf 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 Ellf Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Ellf Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.8 ft. Phosphorus 18 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.5 µg/L. TSI 46.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 18µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.5µg/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. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Ellf Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Ellf Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
10 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
153 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
699 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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Fishing Ellf Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Ellf Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Elliott Lake Dam (completed 1966), built primarily for recreation on the Dunkin Creek; earth-type dam, 52 ft tall and 800 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 2,842 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,720 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- CITY OF RUSSELLVILLE
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL00098 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.62 km)
Nearby Lakes in Franklin County
Frequently asked questions about Ellf Lake
Where is Ellf Lake?
- Ellf Lake is a lake in Franklin County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Ellf Lake?
- Ellf Lake in Franklin County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 18 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.5 µg/L.
Is Ellf Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Ellf Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Ellf Lake, 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.
Explore Ellf Lake across LakeQuality
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Mesotrophic Lakes in Alabama
Where this data comes from
28 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC28 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)