Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake
Alleghany County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake in Alleghany County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.7 µg/L.
Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Alleghany County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Alleghany County, Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-07-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12.5 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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 Mouth Big Lick Cr. 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 Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.7 µg/L. TSI 38.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12.5ft | 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) | 1.7µg/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. | 38 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
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Fishing Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 8 years of monitoring (2013–2026).
Water clarity
Stable8 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.24 µg/L/yr8 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.01 µg/L/yr8 years
Nearby Lakes in Alleghany County
Frequently asked questions about Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake
Where is Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake?
- Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake is a lake in Alleghany County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake?
- Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake in Alleghany County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.7 µg/L.
Is Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Mouth Big Lick Cr. Lake across LakeQuality
2 documented falls within 24.8 mi, nearest Falls of Hills Creek (Lower Falls)
4 thermal springs within 8.7 mi, nearest Falling Spring
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Virginia's top lakes, each with its readings
Virginia's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Oligotrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
466 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB466 samples · 2013–2026
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)
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.