Six Mile Dam Lake
Eddy County, New Mexico70 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Six Mile Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- Limited data
Six Mile Dam Lake in Eddy County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 110.3 µg/L. Surface area: 70 acres.
Six Mile Dam Lake is a 70-acre lake in Eddy County, New Mexico.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2013-11-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Six Mile Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Six Mile Dam Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Six Mile Dam Lake
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Six Mile Dam 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 1.6 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 110.3 µg/L. TSI 74.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | 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) | 110µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 74 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Six Mile Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
70 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Six Mile Dam Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Six Mile Dam Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Six Mile Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Six Mile Power Dam (completed 1905), built primarily for recreation on the Pecos River; gravity-type dam, 25 ft tall and 800 ft long.
- Surface area
- 70 ac
- Normal storage
- 350 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 350 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 18,000 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- CITY OF CARLSBAD
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00195 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.03 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Six Mile Dam 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NM-2202.B_20 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Eddy County
Frequently asked questions about Six Mile Dam Lake
Where is Six Mile Dam Lake?
- Six Mile Dam Lake is a lake in Eddy County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Six Mile Dam Lake?
- Six Mile Dam Lake in Eddy County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 110.3 µg/L. Surface area: 70 acres.
Is Six Mile Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Six Mile Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Six Mile Dam Lake across LakeQuality
2 thermal springs within 20.6 mi, nearest Mosley Spring
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Planning a trip around Carlsbad Caverns?
Six Mile Dam Lake is about 29 miles from Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX6 samples · 2013
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