Mcveigh Ford Lake
Franklin County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Mcveigh Ford Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Mcveigh Ford Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.6 µg/L.
Mcveigh Ford Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 12 other monitored lakes in Franklin County, Mcveigh Ford Lake ranks #8 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-04-14. 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. Mcveigh Ford Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Mcveigh Ford Lake 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 Mcveigh Ford Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Mcveigh Ford Lake, 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 0.6 µg/L. TSI 45.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | 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) | 0.6µg/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. | 45 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Mcveigh Ford Lake
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Fishing Mcveigh Ford Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 14 years of monitoring (2012–2025).
Water clarity
Stable14 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.05 µg/L/yr14 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.03 µg/L/yr14 years
EPA Impairment Status
Mcveigh Ford Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L07L_ROA05A14 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Franklin County
Frequently asked questions about Mcveigh Ford Lake
Where is Mcveigh Ford Lake?
- Mcveigh Ford Lake is a lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mcveigh Ford Lake?
- Mcveigh Ford Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 0.6 µg/L.
Is Mcveigh Ford Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Mcveigh Ford Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Mcveigh Ford Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
382 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2012–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB382 samples · 2012–2026
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 (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