Purs Lake
Jefferson County, AlabamaView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Purs Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 36 ft max depth
Purs Lake in Jefferson County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 26.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.9 µg/L.
Purs Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Jefferson County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Jefferson County, Purs Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2023-10-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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. Purs Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Purs 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 Purs Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Purs 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 26.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13.9 µg/L. TSI 55.
| 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 | 26.1µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 13.9µg/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. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Purs Lake
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Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Purs Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
45 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
741 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
10.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
568 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Purs Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Purs Lake in Jefferson County, Alabama — 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 Purs Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Purs Lake
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Fishing Purs Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Purs 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: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AL03150202-0103-102 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Jefferson County
Frequently asked questions about Purs Lake
Where is Purs Lake?
- Purs Lake is a lake in Jefferson County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Purs Lake?
- Purs Lake in Jefferson County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 26.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.9 µg/L.
Is Purs Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Purs Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Purs Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Purs Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Purs Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
289 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2012–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC289 samples · 2012–2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)