Lake Adger
Polk County, North Carolina438 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Adger. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 35 ft max depth
- Public access
Lake Adger in Polk County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.2 µg/L. Surface area: 438 acres.
Lake Adger is a 438-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Polk County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2025-09-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Adger covers about 440 acres in Polk County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Lake Adger on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Lake Adger is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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 Lake Adger is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Adger
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lake Adger, 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.2 µg/L. TSI 56.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 50µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.2µg/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. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Adger
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~35 ft est.
Surface area
438 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Lake Adger.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
136 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
10 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
938 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
- Lake AdgerPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Adger
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Adger in Polk County, North Carolina — 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 Lake Adger are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Adger
Prices for Oct 23–25, 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 trip? Cabins and lodging at Lake Adger → · more North Carolina lake trips
Follow Lake Adger’s readings
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Fishing Lake Adger
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.25 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Adger is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Turner Shoals Dam (completed 1925), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Green River; concrete-type dam, 87 ft tall and 665 ft long.
- Surface area
- 438 ac
- Normal storage
- 13,776 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 16,530 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 138 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Polk County
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00208 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Adger
Where is Lake Adger?
- Lake Adger is a lake in Polk County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Adger?
- Lake Adger in Polk County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.2 µg/L. Surface area: 438 acres.
Is Lake Adger safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Adger?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Adger, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 35 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 438 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Adger?
- Lake Adger has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Adger. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Adger?
- Lake Adger 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 North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Adger across LakeQuality
7.4 mi away · 404 ft
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at North Carolina's top lakes, each with its readings
North Carolina's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
Planning a trip around Blue Ridge?
Lake Adger is about 22 miles from Blue Ridge Parkway. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Blue Ridge →More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
91 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ91 samples · 2021–2025
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory