Nottoway Lake
Nottoway County, Virginia170 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Nottoway Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Oxygen depletion (low DO)
- Public access
- Limited data
Nottoway Lake in Nottoway County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.2 µg/L. Surface area: 170 acres.
Nottoway Lake is a 170-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Nottoway County, Virginia. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Nottoway County, Nottoway Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-06-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Nottoway Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Nottoway 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 Nottoway Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Nottoway 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 3.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 17.2 µg/L. TSI 56.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 25µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 17.2µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Nottoway Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
170 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Virginia DEQ
No bathymetric survey has been published for Nottoway Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Nottoway Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Nottoway Lake in Nottoway County, Virginia — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Nottoway Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Nottoway Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2013–2026).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.57 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.37 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Nottoway Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Nottoway Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Lees Creek to Cellar Creek - VAHU6 JA30; earth-type dam, 35 ft tall and 980 ft long.
- Surface area
- 170 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,871.3 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,871.3 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.95 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA135007 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Nottoway 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 VAP-J11L_LDJ01A98 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Nottoway County
Frequently asked questions about Nottoway Lake
Where is Nottoway Lake?
- Nottoway Lake is a lake in Nottoway County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Nottoway Lake?
- Nottoway Lake in Nottoway County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.2 µg/L. Surface area: 170 acres.
Is Nottoway Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Nottoway Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Can I fish at Nottoway Lake?
- Public access to Nottoway Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Virginia's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Nottoway Lake across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in Virginia
Eutrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
51 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2019–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB51 samples · 2019–2026
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