Little River Lake
Worcester County, Massachusetts200 acresView mapDirections
MassDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Little River Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 40 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Little River Lake in Worcester County, Massachusetts has water-quality measurements published by MassDEP, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.1 µg/L. Surface area: 200 acres.
Little River Lake is a 200-acre mesotrophic lake in Worcester County, Massachusetts with an estimated average depth of about 40 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 23 other monitored lakes in Worcester County, Little River Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, MassDEP, last sampled 2016-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Little River Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground nearby
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. Little River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Little River Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Little River Lake
These are the measurements MassDEP publishes for Little River Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Chlorophyll-a 6.1 µg/L. TSI 48.
| 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 | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.1µg/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. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Little River Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~40 ft est.
Surface area
200 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by MassDEP
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Massachusetts has not published bathymetry for Little River Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
25 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
505 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 Little River Lake
- Buffumville Lake (Group Shelter)0.6 kmReserve
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 Little River Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Little River Lake in Worcester County, Massachusetts — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Little River Lake
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Fishing Little River Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Little River Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Buffumville Dam (completed 1958), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Little River; gravity-type dam, 66 ft tall and 3,255 ft long.
- Surface area
- 200 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,440 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 12,700 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 27 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - New England District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MA00964 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.11 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Little River Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MA42005 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Worcester County
Frequently asked questions about Little River Lake
Where is Little River Lake?
- Little River Lake is a lake in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Its water-quality measurements are published by MassDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Little River Lake?
- Little River Lake in Worcester County, Massachusetts has water-quality measurements published by MassDEP, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.1 µg/L. Surface area: 200 acres.
Is Little River Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Little River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, nuisance exotic species. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Little River Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Little River Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 40 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 200 acres.
Can I fish at Little River Lake?
- Public access to Little River Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Massachusetts's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Little River Lake?
- Little River Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Buffumville Lake (Group Shelter). 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 Little River Lake across LakeQuality
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Mesotrophic Lakes in Massachusetts
Where this data comes from
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
MASSDEP3 samples · 2016
Analytical methods
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles