Martinsville Reservoir
Henry County, Virginia206 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Martinsville Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Pathogens (E. coli, fecal)
- 46 ft max depth
Martinsville Reservoir in Henry County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L. Surface area: 206.4 acres.
Martinsville Reservoir is a 206-acre mesotrophic lake in Henry County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 46 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-07-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
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. Martinsville Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for pathogens (E. coli, fecal). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Martinsville Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Martinsville Reservoir
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Martinsville Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.5 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.1 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Martinsville Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~46 ft est.
Surface area
206 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 Martinsville Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
9 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
853 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.
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Fishing Martinsville Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2012–2026).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.53 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.12 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Martinsville Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Beaver Creek Dam, built primarily for water supply on the Beaver Creek - VAHU6 RD24 Smith River - Beaver Creek; earth-type dam, 71 ft tall and 1,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 206.4 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,066 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,603 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9.68 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Martinsville
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA089003 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.13 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Martinsville Reservoir 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: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L53L_BAU01A02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Henry County
Frequently asked questions about Martinsville Reservoir
Where is Martinsville Reservoir?
- Martinsville Reservoir is a lake in Henry County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Martinsville Reservoir?
- Martinsville Reservoir in Henry County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.1 µg/L. Surface area: 206.4 acres.
Is Martinsville Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Martinsville Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for pathogens (E. coli, fecal). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Martinsville Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Martinsville Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 46 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 206.4 acres.
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Where this data comes from
274 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB274 samples · 2014–2026
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
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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)