Pedlar River Reservoir
Amherst County, Virginia125 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Pedlar River Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Temperature
- 34 ft max depth
Pedlar River Reservoir in Amherst County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.5 µg/L. Surface area: 125 acres.
Pedlar River Reservoir is a 125-acre mesotrophic lake in Amherst County, Virginia with an estimated average depth of about 34 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 6 other monitored lakes in Amherst County, Pedlar River Reservoir ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-07-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Pedlar River Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground nearby
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. Pedlar River Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Pedlar River Reservoir 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 Pedlar River Reservoir
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Pedlar River Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.5 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.5 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.5ft | 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) | 5.5µg/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. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Pedlar River Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~34 ft est.
Surface area
125 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Virginia has not published bathymetry for Pedlar River Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
36 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,056 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
Public campgrounds near Pedlar River Reservoir
- Brown Mtn Creek Shelter4.5 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
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Stays near Pedlar River Reservoir
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Top-rated places to stay near Pedlar River Reservoir
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Fishing Pedlar River Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 11 years of monitoring (2015–2026).
Water clarity
Improving11 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.27 µg/L/yr10 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.42 µg/L/yr10 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Pedlar River Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Pedlar River Dam, built primarily for water supply on the Pedlar River; gravity-type dam, 87 ft tall and 312 ft long.
- Surface area
- 125 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,170 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 41.21 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Lynchburg
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA009005 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Pedlar River Reservoir 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-H02L_POL01A02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Amherst County
Frequently asked questions about Pedlar River Reservoir
Where is Pedlar River Reservoir?
- Pedlar River Reservoir 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 Pedlar River Reservoir?
- Pedlar River Reservoir in Amherst County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.5 µg/L. Surface area: 125 acres.
Is Pedlar River Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pedlar River Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Pedlar River Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Pedlar River Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 34 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 125 acres.
Are there campgrounds on Pedlar River Reservoir?
- Pedlar River Reservoir has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Brown Mtn Creek Shelter. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Pedlar River Reservoir across LakeQuality
3 documented falls within 17.6 mi, nearest Panther Falls
18.8 mi away · recorded at 72°F
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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Where this data comes from
464 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB464 samples · 2015–2026
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
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles