Lake Raleigh
Wake County, North Carolina88 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Raleigh. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · PCBs
Lake Raleigh in Wake County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 45 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 29.5 µg/L. Surface area: 88.1 acres.
Lake Raleigh is a 88-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Wake County, North Carolina. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 13 other monitored lakes in Wake County, Lake Raleigh ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2025-09-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Raleigh covers about 88 acres in Wake County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Lake Raleigh on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
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. Lake Raleigh is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5A) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Raleigh 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 Raleigh
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Lake Raleigh, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 45 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 29.5 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 45µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 29.5µg/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. | 62 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Raleigh
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
88 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Lake Raleigh, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Raleigh
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Raleigh in Wake 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 Raleigh are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Raleigh
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 whole trip? See where to stay at North Carolina’s top lakes →
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Fishing Lake Raleigh
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2020–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+3 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Raleigh is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Raleigh Dam (completed 1914), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Walnut Creek; earth-type dam, 29 ft tall and 762 ft long.
- Surface area
- 88.1 ac
- Normal storage
- 560 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,921 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 12.01 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- State of North Carolina, State Property Office
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00863 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Raleigh is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NC27-34-(3.5) · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Wake County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Raleigh
Where is Lake Raleigh?
- Lake Raleigh is a lake in Wake 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 Raleigh?
- Lake Raleigh in Wake County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 45 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 29.5 µg/L. Surface area: 88.1 acres.
Is Lake Raleigh safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Raleigh is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5A) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Lake Raleigh across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
32 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ32 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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