Lake Lee
Union County, North Carolina122 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Lee. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 35 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lake Lee in Union County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 210 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 90.5 µg/L. Surface area: 122 acres.
Lake Lee is a 122-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Union County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Union County, Lake Lee ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-09-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Lee 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 Lee
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lake Lee, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 210 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 90.5 µg/L. TSI 78.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 210µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 90.5µg/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. | 78 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Lake Lee
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~35 ft est.
Surface area
122 acres
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 Lee.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
52 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
515 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 Lake Lee
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Lee in Union 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 Lee are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Lee
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Lake Lee
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Lee is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Lee Dam (completed 1925), built primarily for other on the Richardson Creek; concrete-type dam, 39 ft tall and 450 ft long.
- Surface area
- 122 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,507 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,465 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 51.42 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Monroe
All listed purposes: Other;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00536 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Union County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Lee
Where is Lake Lee?
- Lake Lee is a lake in Union 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 Lee?
- Lake Lee in Union County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 210 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 90.5 µg/L. Surface area: 122 acres.
Is Lake Lee safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Lee?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Lee, 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 122 acres.
Explore Lake Lee across LakeQuality
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Hypereutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
45 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ45 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- 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)