Sunrise Lake-Main Beach
Strafford County, New Hampshire257 acresView mapDirections
NHDES publishes the water-quality measurements for Sunrise Lake-Main Beach. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
Sunrise Lake-Main Beach in Strafford County, New Hampshire has water-quality measurements published by NHDES, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 11.8 µg/L. Surface area: 257 acres.
Sunrise Lake-Main Beach is a 257-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Strafford County, New Hampshire. Compared to the 14 other monitored lakes in Strafford County, Sunrise Lake-Main Beach ranks #6 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2025-09-10. 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. Sunrise Lake-Main Beach is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, biotoxins, mercury, nuisance exotic species, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Sunrise Lake-Main Beach is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Sunrise Lake-Main Beach
These are the measurements NHDES publishes for Sunrise Lake-Main Beach, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 11.8 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 11.8µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 40 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Sunrise Lake-Main Beach
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
257 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Sunrise Lake-Main Beach, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Sunrise Lake-Main Beach
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Sunrise Lake-Main Beach is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Sunrise Lake Dam (completed 1877), built primarily for recreation on the Tr Cocheco River; earth-type dam, 19 ft tall and 665 ft long.
- Surface area
- 257 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,120 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,790 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.73 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- SUNRISE LAKE VILLAGE DISTRICT COMMISSION
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NH00310 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.25 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Sunrise Lake-Main Beach 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, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NHLAK600030601-05-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Strafford County
Frequently asked questions about Sunrise Lake-Main Beach
Where is Sunrise Lake-Main Beach?
- Sunrise Lake-Main Beach is a lake in Strafford County, New Hampshire. Its water-quality measurements are published by NHDES and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sunrise Lake-Main Beach?
- Sunrise Lake-Main Beach in Strafford County, New Hampshire has water-quality measurements published by NHDES, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 11.8 µg/L. Surface area: 257 acres.
Is Sunrise Lake-Main Beach safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Sunrise Lake-Main Beach is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, biotoxins, mercury, nuisance exotic species, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- New Hampshire Department Of Environmental Services (BEACH)
1111330011 samples · 2022–2025
Analytical methods
- 10-115-01-1 F ~ LACHAT; Total Phosphorus- Manual persulfate digest
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