Harveys Lake
Caledonia County, Vermont409 acresView mapDirections
Vermont DEC publishes the water-quality measurements for Harveys Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Hydrologic alteration
- 57 ft max depth
- Public access
Harveys Lake in Caledonia County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 21 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.3 µg/L. Surface area: 409 acres.
Harveys Lake is a 409-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Caledonia County, Vermont with an estimated average depth of about 57 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 8 other monitored lakes in Caledonia County, Harveys Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, VT DEC, last sampled 2025-08-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Harveys Lake covers about 410 acres in Caledonia County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Harveys Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Harveys Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water21 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow 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. Harveys Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for hydrologic alteration. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Harveys Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Harveys Lake
These are the measurements Vermont DEC publishes for Harveys Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 21 ft down. Phosphorus 8.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.3 µg/L. TSI 34.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 21ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 8.4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 34 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Harveys Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~57 ft est.
Surface area
409 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Vermont DEC
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Vermont has not published bathymetry for Harveys Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
21 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
892 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Harveys Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Harveys Lake in Caledonia County, Vermont — 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 Harveys Lake
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Fishing Harveys Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.4 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.24 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Harveys Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Harveys Lake (completed 1970), built primarily for recreation on the Stevens River; concrete-type dam, 17 ft tall and 200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 409 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,700 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 20 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- TOWN OF BARNET
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VT00051 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Harveys Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4C).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VT14-09L05 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Caledonia County
Frequently asked questions about Harveys Lake
Where is Harveys Lake?
- Harveys Lake is a lake in Caledonia County, Vermont. Its water-quality measurements are published by Vermont DEC and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Harveys Lake?
- Harveys Lake in Caledonia County, Vermont has water-quality measurements published by Vermont DEC, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 21 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.3 µg/L. Surface area: 409 acres.
Is Harveys Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Harveys Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for hydrologic alteration. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Harveys Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Harveys Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 57 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 409 acres.
Can I fish at Harveys Lake?
- Public access to Harveys Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Vermont's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Harveys Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
208 measurements from 5 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation
1VTDECWQ208 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- EPA approved Alternate Test Procedure for 4500 P H. Has a 28 day hold without acid preservation.
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (5)
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)