Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake
Amherst County, Virginia194 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · pH / acidity
Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake in Amherst County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11.5 µg/L. Surface area: 194 acres.
Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake is a 194-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Amherst County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 6 other monitored lakes in Amherst County, Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-07-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate 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. Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Northeast Arm of Mill Creek 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 Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Northeast Arm of Mill Creek 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 4.1 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 11.5 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 11.5µg/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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
194 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 7 years of monitoring (2012–2026).
Water clarity
Improving7 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.5 µg/L/yr7 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable0 µg/L/yr7 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Buffalo River Dam # 4a, built primarily for water supply on the Mill Creek; earth-type dam, 64 ft tall and 400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 194 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,934 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,184 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 8.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Amherst County Department of Public Works
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA009024 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.85 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Northeast Arm of Mill Creek 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: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-H11L_MIN01A06 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Amherst County
Frequently asked questions about Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake
Where is Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake?
- Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake is a lake in Amherst County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake?
- Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake in Amherst County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11.5 µg/L. Surface area: 194 acres.
Is Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake across LakeQuality
2 documented falls within 12.8 mi, nearest Statons Creek Falls
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Where this data comes from
79 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2025–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB79 samples · 2025–2026
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.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database