Powhatan Lake
Powhatan County, Virginia35 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Powhatan Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- Public access
Powhatan Lake in Powhatan County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 23.4 µg/L. Surface area: 35 acres.
Powhatan Lake is a 35-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Powhatan County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2024-10-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Powhatan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Powhatan 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 Powhatan Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Powhatan 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 2.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 23.4 µg/L. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 40µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 23.4µg/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. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Powhatan Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
35 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Virginia DEQ
No bathymetric survey has been published for Powhatan Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Powhatan Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Powhatan Lake in Powhatan 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 Powhatan Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Powhatan Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2017–2024).
Water clarity
Stable4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-2.09 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.21 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Powhatan Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Upper Powhatan Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Stegers Creek; earth-type dam, 27 ft tall and 435 ft long.
- Surface area
- 35 ac
- Normal storage
- 210 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 750 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4.92 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA145001 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.41 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Powhatan 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-H33L_STG01A12 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Powhatan County
Frequently asked questions about Powhatan Lake
Where is Powhatan Lake?
- Powhatan Lake is a lake in Powhatan County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Powhatan Lake?
- Powhatan Lake in Powhatan County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 23.4 µg/L. Surface area: 35 acres.
Is Powhatan Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Powhatan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Can I fish at Powhatan Lake?
- Public access to Powhatan 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.
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Where this data comes from
206 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2017–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB206 samples · 2017–2024
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 (2)
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