Lake Witten
Tazewell County, Virginia62 acresView mapDirections
Clarity, phosphorus, and algae all sit in the cleanest band for this region.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- #1 of 1 in the county
- 13 ft max depth
Lake Witten in Tazewell County, Virginia has a water quality grade of A (Excellent). Water clarity: 11.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L. Surface area: 61.8 acres.
- Clarity
- 11.3 ft
- Max depth
- ~13 ft est.
- Area
- 62 acres
- Type
- Mesotrophic
- Phosphorus
- 10 µg/L
- Chlorophyll-a
- 2.1 µg/L
- Trend
- ↓ Declining
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Watch Lake Witten’s letter
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Lake Witten is a 62-acre mesotrophic lake in Tazewell County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 13 feet. Water quality is graded A based on 2 sampling years through 2026. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-10. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Lake Witten is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water11.3 ft of visibility
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyLow algae
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The A is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Lake Witten is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: A (Excellent)
Good clarity, visible to about 11.3 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.1 µg/L. TSI 39. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 11.3 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L | Good |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.1 µg/L | Good |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 39 | Mesotrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~13 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 62 acres |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Virginia has not published bathymetry for Lake Witten.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Fishing Lake Witten
Water Quality Trend: ↓ Declining
Based on 3 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | → Stable | +0.051 m/yr | 3 |
| Phosphorus | → Stable | -0.15 µg/L/yr | 3 |
| Chlorophyll-a | ↓ Declining | +0.07 µg/L/yr | 3 |
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Witten is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Upper Clinch Valley Dam #1b, built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Cavitts Creek; earth-type dam, 76 ft tall and 460 ft long.
- Surface area
- 61.8 ac
- Normal storage
- 931 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,320 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.57 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Tazewell County Board of Supervisors
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA185005 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.07 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Witten is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAS-P01L_CAV01A10 · Official waterbody report
County Ranking
Ranked #1 of 1 lakes in Tazewell County
Nearby Lakes in Tazewell County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Witten
Where is Lake Witten?
- Lake Witten is a lake in Tazewell County, Virginia. LakeQuality grades it A for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Lake Witten?
- Lake Witten in Tazewell County, Virginia has a water quality grade of A (Excellent). Water clarity: 11.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L. Surface area: 61.8 acres.
Is Lake Witten safe to swim in?
- The A is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Lake Witten is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Witten?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Witten, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 13 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 61.8 acres.
Explore Lake Witten across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
66 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2019–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB66 samples · 2019–2026
Analytical methods
- Tyler, John. 1968. The secchi disk, Limnology and Oceanograpy, 13(1):1-6.
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 446.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophylls and Pheopigments in Phytoplankton by Spectrophotometry
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)