Hales Ford Lake
Franklin County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Hales Ford Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
Hales Ford Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.8 µg/L.
Hales Ford Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 7 public boat landings. Compared to the 12 other monitored lakes in Franklin County, Hales Ford Lake ranks #10 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Hales Ford Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch7 documented ramps
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. Hales Ford Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hales Ford Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Hales Ford Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Hales Ford 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 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 8.8 µg/L. TSI 51.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.9ft | 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) | 8.8µg/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. | 51 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hales Ford Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Recreation & Access
- Hales FordPublic
- Oak GrovePublic
- Harbor TrailPublic
- Webster Marine CenterSemi-private
- Halesford HarborSemi-private
- Waterwheel MarinaSemi-private
Showing 6 of 7 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hales Ford Lake
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Fishing Hales Ford Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 15 years of monitoring (2012–2026).
Water clarity
Stable15 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.93 µg/L/yr15 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.01 µg/L/yr15 years
EPA Impairment Status
Hales Ford Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L07L_ROA03A10 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Franklin County
Frequently asked questions about Hales Ford Lake
Where is Hales Ford Lake?
- Hales Ford Lake is a lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hales Ford Lake?
- Hales Ford Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.8 µg/L.
Is Hales Ford Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hales Ford Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Hales Ford Lake?
- Hales Ford Lake has 7 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Hales Ford, Oak Grove, Harbor Trail, Webster Marine Center, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Hales Ford Lake?
- Hales Ford Lake has 7 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Virginia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Hales Ford Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
680 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB680 samples · 2012–2026
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
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory