Tlst Lake
Talladega County, AlabamaView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Tlst Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 28 ft max depth
Tlst Lake in Talladega County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.5 µg/L.
Tlst Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Talladega County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 28 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Talladega County, Tlst Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2025-10-22. 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Tlst Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Tlst Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Tlst 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 6.3 ft. Phosphorus 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.5 µg/L. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 16µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.5µg/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. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Tlst Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~28 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Alabama has not published bathymetry for Tlst Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
34 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
74 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
551 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
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Stays near Tlst Lake
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Fishing Tlst Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-2.33 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.33 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Tlst Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Howard (completed 1956), built primarily for recreation on the Tallaseehatchee Creek; earth-type dam, 75 ft tall and 836 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 4,733 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,983 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF SYLACAUGA
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL01084 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.1 km)
Nearby Lakes in Talladega County
Frequently asked questions about Tlst Lake
Where is Tlst Lake?
- Tlst Lake is a lake in Talladega County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Tlst Lake?
- Tlst Lake in Talladega County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.5 µg/L.
Is Tlst Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Tlst Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Tlst Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 28 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Tlst Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Alabama
Other Lakes in Alabama
Mesotrophic Lakes in Alabama
Where this data comes from
83 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC83 samples · 2022–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)