Turl Lake
Lawrence County, AlabamaView mapDirections
ADEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Turl Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 40 ft max depth
- Limited data
Turl Lake in Lawrence County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 33 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16.3 µg/L.
Turl Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Lawrence County, Alabama with an estimated average depth of about 40 feet. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Lawrence County, Turl Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEM, last sampled 2017-10-12. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Turl 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 Turl Lake
These are the measurements ADEM publishes for Turl 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 5 ft. Phosphorus 33 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 16.3 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 33µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 16.3µg/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. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Turl Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~40 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 Turl Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
57 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
696 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Turl Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Turl Lake in Lawrence County, Alabama — 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 Turl Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Turl Lake
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Fishing Turl Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Turl Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mastersom Mill Lake (completed 1967), built primarily for recreation on the Turkey Creek; earth-type dam, 47 ft tall and 633 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 1,330 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,890 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF MOULTON
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AL01005 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.02 km)
Nearby Lakes in Lawrence County
Frequently asked questions about Turl Lake
Where is Turl Lake?
- Turl Lake is a lake in Lawrence County, Alabama. Its water-quality measurements are published by ADEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Turl Lake?
- Turl Lake in Lawrence County, Alabama has water-quality measurements published by ADEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 33 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16.3 µg/L.
Is Turl Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Turl Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Turl Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 40 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
30 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- ALABAMA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - WATER QUALITY DATA
21AWIC30 samples · 2017
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)