Great Creek Reservoir
Brunswick County, Virginia238 acresView mapDirections
Nutrients and algae run above the regional average.
↓ down from C at the last regrade
- Eutrophic
- #2 of 3 in the county
- 33 ft max depth
- Public access
Great Creek Reservoir in Brunswick County, Virginia has a water quality grade of D (Nutrient-rich). Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15.5 µg/L. Surface area: 238.34 acres.
- Clarity
- 3.1 ft
- Max depth
- ~33 ft est.
- Area
- 238 acres
- Type
- Eutrophic
- Phosphorus
- 30 µg/L
- Chlorophyll-a
- 15.5 µg/L
- Trend
- ↓ Declining
- Public access
- Yes
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Great Creek Reservoir is a 238-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Brunswick County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 33 feet. Water quality is graded D based on 2 sampling years through 2026. 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 2 other monitored lakes in Brunswick County, Great Creek Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-30. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Great Creek Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyAlgae risk
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The D is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: D (Nutrient-rich)
Very murky, less than 3.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15.5 µg/L. TSI 57. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 3.1 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | 30 µg/L | Fair |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 15.5 µg/L | Poor |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 57 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~33 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~15 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 238 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 Great Creek Reservoir.
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
- Great Creek WatershedPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Great Creek Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: ↓ Declining
Based on 6 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | → Stable | +0.011 m/yr | 6 |
| Phosphorus | → Stable | -0.21 µg/L/yr | 5 |
| Chlorophyll-a | ↓ Declining | +0.6 µg/L/yr | 5 |
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Great Creek Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Great Creek Dam # 6a (completed 1989), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Great Creek - VAHU6 CM16 Great Creek; earth-type dam, 67 ft tall and 1,530 ft long.
- Surface area
- 238.34 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,318 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 29,632 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 41.23 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- County of Brunswick
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA025007 · Operator website
County Ranking
Ranked #2 of 3 lakes in Brunswick County
Nearby Lakes in Brunswick County
Frequently asked questions about Great Creek Reservoir
Where is Great Creek Reservoir?
- Great Creek Reservoir is a lake in Brunswick County, Virginia. LakeQuality grades it D for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Great Creek Reservoir?
- Great Creek Reservoir in Brunswick County, Virginia has a water quality grade of D (Nutrient-rich). Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15.5 µg/L. Surface area: 238.34 acres.
Is Great Creek Reservoir safe to swim in?
- The D is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Great Creek Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Great Creek Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 33 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 238.34 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Great Creek Reservoir?
- Great Creek Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Great Creek Watershed. Public access is listed as yes.
Explore Great Creek Reservoir across LakeQuality
More Virginia Lake Rankings
Other Grade D Lakes in Virginia
Eutrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
156 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB156 samples · 2013–2026
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
- 446.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophylls and Pheopigments in Phytoplankton by Spectrophotometry
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory