Goat Rock Lake
Harris County, Georgia960 acresView mapDirections
Georgia EPD publishes the water-quality measurements for Goat Rock Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · PCBs
- 39 ft max depth
- Public access
Goat Rock Lake in Harris County, Georgia has water-quality measurements published by Georgia EPD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.8 µg/L. Surface area: 960 acres.
Goat Rock Lake is a 960-acre mesotrophic lake in Harris County, Georgia with an estimated average depth of about 39 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 3 other monitored lakes in Harris County, Goat Rock Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Georgia EPD, last sampled 2021-10-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Goat Rock Lake covers about 960 acres in Harris County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Goat Rock Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Goat Rock Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate 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. Goat Rock Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Goat Rock Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Goat Rock Lake
These are the measurements Georgia EPD publishes for Goat Rock Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 5.2 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.8 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.8µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Goat Rock Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~39 ft est.
Surface area
960 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Georgia EPD
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Georgia has not published bathymetry for Goat Rock Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4,513 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
14.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
417 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
- Goat Rock MarinaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Goat Rock Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Goat Rock Lake in Harris County, Georgia — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Goat Rock Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Goat Rock Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 10 years of monitoring (2012–2021).
Water clarity
Worsening10 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.64 µg/L/yr10 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Goat Rock Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Goat Rock (completed 1912), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Chattahoochee River; gravity-type dam, 69 ft tall and 1,433.5 ft long.
- Surface area
- 960 ac
- Normal storage
- 8,500 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 10,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4,535 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Georgia Power Company
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID GA00826 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Goat Rock Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit GAR031300021305 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Harris County
Frequently asked questions about Goat Rock Lake
Where is Goat Rock Lake?
- Goat Rock Lake is a lake in Harris County, Georgia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Georgia EPD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Goat Rock Lake?
- Goat Rock Lake in Harris County, Georgia has water-quality measurements published by Georgia EPD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.8 µg/L. Surface area: 960 acres.
Is Goat Rock Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Goat Rock Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Goat Rock Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Goat Rock Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 39 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 960 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Goat Rock Lake?
- Goat Rock Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Goat Rock Marina. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Goat Rock Lake?
- Goat Rock 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 Georgia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Goat Rock Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
146 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division
21GAEPD_WQX146 samples · 2012–2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
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
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