Silver Lake
Sussex County, New Jersey20 acresView mapDirections
NJDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Silver Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Oxygen depletion (low DO)
- Limited data
Silver Lake in Sussex County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 34.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.8 µg/L. Surface area: 20 acres.
Silver Lake is a 20-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Sussex County, New Jersey. Compared to the 17 other monitored lakes in Sussex County, Silver Lake ranks #16 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2024-07-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Silver Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity, temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Silver Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Silver Lake
These are the measurements NJDEP publishes for Silver 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 34.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 18.8 µg/L. TSI 57.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 34.4µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 18.8µg/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. | 57 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Silver Lake
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Lake Details
Surface area
20 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Silver Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Silver Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Silver Lake in Sussex County, New Jersey — 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 Silver Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Silver Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Silver Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Silver Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Franklin Pond Creek-TR; earth-type dam, 11 ft tall and 171 ft long.
- Surface area
- 20 ac
- Normal storage
- 67 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Division of Fish & Wildlife
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NJ00469 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Silver 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 NJ02020007010030-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Sussex County
Frequently asked questions about Silver Lake
Where is Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake is a lake in Sussex County, New Jersey. Its water-quality measurements are published by NJDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake in Sussex County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 34.4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.8 µg/L. Surface area: 20 acres.
Is Silver Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Silver Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity, temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Silver Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
19 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring
NJDEP_BFBM19 samples · 2021–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 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