Hilc Lake
Calhoun County, Alabama35 acresView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Hilc Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 31 ft max depth
Hilc Lake in Calhoun County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16 µg/L. Surface area: 35 acres.
Hilc Lake is a 35-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Calhoun County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2025-10-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Hilc Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground nearby
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 Hilc Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Hilc Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Hilc 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 3.8 ft. Phosphorus 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 16 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 16µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 16µg/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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hilc Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 ft est.
Surface area
35 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Hilc Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
15 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
699 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
Public campgrounds near Hilc Lake
- Good Sam Oxford Campground4.0 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hilc Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hilc Lake in Calhoun County, Alabama — 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 Hilc Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Hilc Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 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 whole trip? See where to stay at Alabama’s top lakes →
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Fishing Hilc Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.17 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.93 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hilc Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Choccolocco Creek W/S Dam Site 11 (completed 1971), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Hillabee Creek; earth-type dam, 75 ft tall and 523 ft long.
- Surface area
- 35 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,401 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 13,331 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 16 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF ANNISTON AL
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL00910 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.07 km)
Nearby Lakes in Calhoun County
Frequently asked questions about Hilc Lake
Where is Hilc Lake?
- Hilc Lake is a lake in Calhoun County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hilc Lake?
- Hilc Lake in Calhoun County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16 µg/L. Surface area: 35 acres.
Is Hilc Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Hilc Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hilc Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 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 35 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Hilc Lake?
- Hilc Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Good Sam Oxford Campground. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Hilc Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
60 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC60 samples · 2022–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles