Near Dam Lake
Colonial Heights city County, Virginia38 acresView mapDirections
This is the name Virginia DEQ records for this water. It can describe one sampling location rather than the water as a whole.
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Near Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Pathogens (E. coli, fecal)
- Limited data
Near Dam Lake in Colonial Heights city County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.1 µg/L. Surface area: 38 acres.
Near Dam Lake is a 38-acre lake in Colonial Heights city County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2013-10-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingBacteria advisory
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Near Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for pathogens (E. coli, fecal). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Near Dam 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 Near Dam Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Near Dam Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13.1 µg/L. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 40µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 13.1µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Near Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
38 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Near Dam Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Near Dam Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2013). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-6.1 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Near Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lakeview (completed 1920), built primarily for recreation on the Swift Creek; concrete-type dam, 39 ft tall and 472 ft long.
- Surface area
- 38 ac
- Normal storage
- 610 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 610 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 168 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Colonial Heights
All listed purposes: Recreation;Hydroelectric.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA570001 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.26 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Near Dam 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: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAP-J17L_SFT02A08 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Colonial Heights city County
Frequently asked questions about Near Dam Lake
Where is Near Dam Lake?
- Near Dam Lake is in Colonial Heights city County, Virginia. This is the name Virginia DEQ records for this water. It can describe one sampling location rather than the water as a whole. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Near Dam Lake?
- Near Dam Lake in Colonial Heights city County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.1 µg/L. Surface area: 38 acres.
Is Near Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Near Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for pathogens (E. coli, fecal). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
56 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2013. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB56 samples · 2012–2013
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
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