Stephen Lake
Atlantic County, New Jersey40 acresView mapDirections
NJDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Stephen Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Stephen Lake in Atlantic County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.8 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.
Stephen Lake is a 40-acre mesotrophic lake in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Atlantic County, Stephen Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2024-10-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
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. Stephen Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, metals (other than mercury), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pH / acidity, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Stephen 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 Stephen Lake
These are the measurements NJDEP publishes for Stephen 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 4.1 ft. Phosphorus 13.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.8 µg/L. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 13.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.8µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Stephen Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
40 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Stephen Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Stephen Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Stephen Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Stephen Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Stephen Creek; earth-type dam, 9 ft tall and 800 ft long.
- Surface area
- 40 ac
- Normal storage
- 130 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 11.1 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- NJDOT
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NJ00717 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Stephen 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: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NJ02040302050080-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Atlantic County
Frequently asked questions about Stephen Lake
Where is Stephen Lake?
- Stephen Lake is a lake in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Its water-quality measurements are published by NJDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Stephen Lake?
- Stephen Lake in Atlantic County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.8 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.
Is Stephen Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Stephen Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, metals (other than mercury), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pH / acidity, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Stephen Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in New Jersey
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Mesotrophic Lakes in New Jersey
Where this data comes from
23 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring
NJDEP_BFBM23 samples · 2023–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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