Ptac Lake
Covington County, Alabama700 acresView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Ptac Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 27 ft max depth
- Public access
Ptac Lake in Covington County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 18 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.5 µg/L. Surface area: 700 acres.
Ptac Lake is a 700-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Covington County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 27 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Covington County, Ptac Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2024-10-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Ptac Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Ptac Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Ptac Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Ptac Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Ptac 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 3.6 ft. Phosphorus 18 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.5 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 18µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.5µg/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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Ptac Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~27 ft est.
Surface area
700 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ADEM
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Ptac Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,260 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
7.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
174 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
- River FallsPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Ptac Lake
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Fishing Ptac Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.4 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.47 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Ptac Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Point A (completed 1925), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Conecuh River, Patsaliga River; gravity-type dam, 56 ft tall and 1,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 700 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,261 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc.
All listed purposes: Hydroelectric;Recreation;Water Supply;Flood Risk Reduction.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL01413 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.23 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Ptac 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, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AL03140301-0405-101 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Covington County
Frequently asked questions about Ptac Lake
Where is Ptac Lake?
- Ptac Lake is a lake in Covington County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Ptac Lake?
- Ptac Lake in Covington County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 18 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.5 µg/L. Surface area: 700 acres.
Is Ptac Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Ptac Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Ptac Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Ptac Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 27 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 700 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Ptac Lake?
- Ptac Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include River Falls. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Ptac Lake?
- Ptac Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Alabama's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Ptac Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
131 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC131 samples · 2012–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory