Emporia Lake
Emporia city County, Virginia510 acresView mapDirections
Not enough samples to grade — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity. No letter yet. Here is what we do have.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 19 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Emporia Lake in Emporia city County, Virginia is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18 µg/L. Surface area: 510 acres.
- Clarity
- 1 ft
- Max depth
- ~19 ft est.
- Area
- 510 acres
- Phosphorus
- 60 µg/L
- Chlorophyll-a
- 18 µg/L
- Trend
- ↑ Improving
- Public access
- Yes
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Watch Emporia Lake’s letter
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Why Emporia Lake has no grade
We grade a lake only when the monitoring record supports a letter: at least three phosphorus or chlorophyll-a samples in the last ten years, scored against EPA National Lakes Assessment thresholds for this lake’s ecoregion. For Emporia Lake, the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity. Sampling here has recorded water clarity, phosphorus and algae (chlorophyll-a).
Not Rated is not an F. It is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. The water here may be excellent or poor; nobody has measured enough of it to say. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by Virginia DEQ and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Emporia Lake is a 510-acre lake in Emporia city County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 19 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2014-10-29. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Emporia Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Emporia Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Emporia Lake
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 18 µg/L. TSI 66.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 1 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | 60 µg/L | Not graded |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 18 µg/L | Not graded |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 66 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~19 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~10 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 510 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Virginia has not published bathymetry for Emporia Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Recreation & Access
- EmporiaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Emporia Lake
Water Quality Trend: ↑ Improving
Based on 2 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | ↑ Improving | +0.1 m/yr | 2 |
| Phosphorus | ↑ Improving | -10 µg/L/yr | 2 |
| Chlorophyll-a | ↓ Declining | +5.6 µg/L/yr | 2 |
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Emporia Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Emporia (completed 1908), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Meherrin; gravity-type dam, 43 ft tall and 680 ft long.
- Surface area
- 510 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,800 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,800 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 747 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Emporia, City of
All listed purposes: Hydroelectric;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA081001 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Emporia Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAP-K08L_MHN02C98 · Official waterbody report · Matched by proximity (2.43 km)
Graded lakes near Emporia Lake
Emporia Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.
Nearby Lakes in Emporia city County
Frequently asked questions about Emporia Lake
Where is Emporia Lake?
- Emporia Lake is a lake in Emporia city County, Virginia. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Emporia Lake?
- Emporia Lake in Emporia city County, Virginia is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18 µg/L. Surface area: 510 acres.
Is Emporia Lake safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Emporia Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Emporia Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Emporia Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 19 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 510 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Emporia Lake?
- Emporia Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Emporia. Public access is listed as yes.
Explore Emporia Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
56 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2014. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB56 samples · 2013–2014
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)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory