Talbott Reservoir
Patrick County, Virginia165 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Talbott Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Talbott Reservoir in Patrick County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.2 µg/L. Surface area: 165 acres.
Talbott Reservoir is a 165-acre mesotrophic lake in Patrick County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Patrick County, Talbott Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2022-10-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Talbott Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water9.8 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow 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. Talbott Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Talbott Reservoir 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 Talbott Reservoir
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Talbott Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.8 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.2 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.2µg/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. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Talbott Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
165 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Talbott Reservoir, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Talbott Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2012–2022).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.54 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.34 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Talbott Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Talbott (completed 1938), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Dan; arch-type dam, 144 ft tall and 510 ft long.
- Surface area
- 165 ac
- Normal storage
- 7,540 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,540 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 20 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Northbrook Carolina Hydro II, LLC
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA141001 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Talbott Reservoir 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, Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L42L_DAN01A02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Patrick County
Frequently asked questions about Talbott Reservoir
Where is Talbott Reservoir?
- Talbott Reservoir is a lake in Patrick County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Talbott Reservoir?
- Talbott Reservoir in Patrick County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.2 µg/L. Surface area: 165 acres.
Is Talbott Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Talbott Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, oxygen depletion (low DO), temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Talbott Reservoir across LakeQuality
More lakes in Virginia
Other Lakes in Virginia
Mesotrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
128 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB128 samples · 2015–2022
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
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