Farmer Lake
Caswell County, North Carolina390 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Farmer Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 52 ft max depth
- Public access
Farmer Lake in Caswell County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 27 µg/L. Surface area: 390 acres.
Farmer Lake is a 390-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Caswell County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 52 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Caswell County, Farmer Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2024-10-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Farmer Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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 Farmer Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Farmer Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Farmer 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 2.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 27 µg/L. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 27µg/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. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Farmer Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~52 ft est.
Surface area
390 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Farmer Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
47 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
11.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
505 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.
Recreation & Access
- Farmer Lake Boat RampPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Farmer Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Farmer Lake in Caswell County, North Carolina — 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 Farmer Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Farmer Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Farmer Lake → · more North Carolina lake trips
Follow Farmer Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Farmer Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+4.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Farmer Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Farmer Lake Dam (completed 1983), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Country Line Creek; earth-type dam, 77 ft tall and 1,340 ft long.
- Surface area
- 390 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,106 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 15,268 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 46.35 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Caswell County
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC04769 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Caswell County
Frequently asked questions about Farmer Lake
Where is Farmer Lake?
- Farmer Lake is a lake in Caswell County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Farmer Lake?
- Farmer Lake in Caswell County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 27 µg/L. Surface area: 390 acres.
Is Farmer Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Farmer Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Farmer Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 52 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 390 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Farmer Lake?
- Farmer Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Farmer Lake Boat Ramp. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Farmer Lake?
- Farmer 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 North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Farmer Lake across LakeQuality
20.1 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at North Carolina's top lakes, each with its readings
North Carolina's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
107 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2022–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ107 samples · 2022–2024
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory