Sycamore Lake
Wake County, North Carolina55 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Sycamore Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
Sycamore Lake in Wake County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32 µg/L. Surface area: 55 acres.
Sycamore Lake is a 55-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Wake County, North Carolina. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 13 other monitored lakes in Wake County, Sycamore Lake ranks #7 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2025-09-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Sycamore Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Sycamore Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Sycamore 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 2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 32 µg/L. TSI 64.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 50µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 32µg/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. | 64 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Sycamore Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
55 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Sycamore Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Sycamore Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Sycamore Lake in Wake County, North Carolina — 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 Sycamore Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Sycamore Lake
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Fishing Sycamore Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2020–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Improving-2 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Sycamore Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Umstead Park Lake Dam #2 (completed 1955), built primarily for recreation on the Sycamore Creek; earth-type dam, 45 ft tall and 345 ft long.
- Surface area
- 55 ac
- Normal storage
- 120 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 144 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00882 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Wake County
Frequently asked questions about Sycamore Lake
Where is Sycamore Lake?
- Sycamore Lake is a lake in Wake County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sycamore Lake?
- Sycamore Lake in Wake County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 32 µg/L. Surface area: 55 acres.
Is Sycamore Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Sycamore Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Hypereutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
35 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ35 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 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.