Station Lake
York County, Virginia274 acresView mapDirections
This is the name Virginia DEQ records for this water. It can describe one sampling location rather than the water as a whole.
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Station Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Metals (other than mercury)
Station Lake in York County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14 µg/L. Surface area: 274 acres.
Station Lake is a 274-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in York County, Virginia. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 6 other monitored lakes in York County, Station Lake ranks #6 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2025-09-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate 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. Station Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Station Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Station Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Station 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 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 14 µg/L. TSI 56.
| 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 | 30µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 14µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Station Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
274 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Station Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Stays near Station Lake
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Fishing Station Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2013–2025).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.35 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Station Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Harwood's Mill Dam (completed 1919), built primarily for water supply on the Poquoson River; earth-type dam, 27 ft tall and 1,200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 274 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,696 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,845 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 10.16 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Newport News;Newport News Waterworks
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA199001 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.28 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Station 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, Other.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAT-C07L_POQ01A04 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in York County
Frequently asked questions about Station Lake
Where is Station Lake?
- Station Lake is in York County, Virginia. This is the name Virginia DEQ records for this water. It can describe one sampling location rather than the water as a whole. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Station Lake?
- Station Lake in York County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14 µg/L. Surface area: 274 acres.
Is Station Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Station Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Eutrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
147 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB147 samples · 2013–2025
Analytical methods
- Tyler, John. 1968. The secchi disk, Limnology and Oceanograpy, 13(1):1-6.
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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