Mayo Reservoir
Person County, North Carolina2,800 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Mayo Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 61 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Mayo Reservoir in Person County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 9.5 µg/L. Surface area: 2800 acres.
Mayo Reservoir is a 2,800-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Person County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 61 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Person County, Mayo Reservoir ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2024-10-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Mayo Reservoir covers about 2,800 acres in Person County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Mayo Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Mayo Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Big water2,800 acres
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 Mayo Reservoir 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 Mayo Reservoir
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Mayo Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 5.9 ft. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 9.5 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 9.5µg/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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Mayo Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~61 ft est.
Surface area
2,800 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NC DEQ
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 Mayo Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
58 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
35.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
430 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 Mayo Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Mayo Reservoir in Person 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Mayo Reservoir
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Fishing Mayo Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Mayo Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mayo Lake Dam, built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Mayo Creek; earth-type dam, 100 ft tall and 2,600 ft long.
- Surface area
- 2,800 ac
- Normal storage
- 88,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 142,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.08 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Duke Energy Corporation
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC06002 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Person County
Frequently asked questions about Mayo Reservoir
Where is Mayo Reservoir?
- Mayo Reservoir is a lake in Person 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 Mayo Reservoir?
- Mayo Reservoir in Person County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 9.5 µg/L. Surface area: 2800 acres.
Is Mayo Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Mayo Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Mayo Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 61 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 2800 acres.
Can I fish at Mayo Reservoir?
- Public access to Mayo Reservoir is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Carolina's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Mayo Reservoir across LakeQuality
9.5 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at North Carolina's top lakes, each with its readings
North Carolina's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
60 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ60 samples · 2024
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- 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)