Savage River Lake
Garrett County, Maryland360 acresView mapDirections
MDE publishes the water-quality measurements for Savage River Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Savage River Lake in Garrett County, Maryland has water-quality measurements published by MDE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.4 ft visibility. Surface area: 360 acres.
Savage River Lake is a 360-acre lake in Garrett County, Maryland. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2022-10-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Savage River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Savage River Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Maryland Department of the Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Savage River Lake
These are the measurements MDE publishes for Savage River Lake, 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 9.4 ft. TSI 45.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 45 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Savage River Lake
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Lake Details
Surface area
360 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Savage River Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Savage River Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Savage River Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Savage River Dam (completed 1952), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Savage River; earth-type dam, 184 ft tall and 1,050 ft long.
- Surface area
- 360 ac
- Normal storage
- 20,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 31,800 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 105 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Upper Potomac River Commission
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MD00014 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Savage River Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 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 MD-021410060077-Savage_Reservoir · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Garrett County
Frequently asked questions about Savage River Lake
Where is Savage River Lake?
- Savage River Lake is a lake in Garrett County, Maryland. Its water-quality measurements are published by MDE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Savage River Lake?
- Savage River Lake in Garrett County, Maryland has water-quality measurements published by MDE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.4 ft visibility. Surface area: 360 acres.
Is Savage River Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Savage River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
53 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2021–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples53 samples · 2021–2022
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