Tuscarora Lake
Madison County, New York362 acresView mapDirections
Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.
- 63 ft max depth
- Limited data
Tuscarora Lake in Madison County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 20.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 362 acres.
- Clarity
- 20.5 ft
- Max depth
- ~63 ft est.
- Area
- 362 acres
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Watch Tuscarora Lake’s letter
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Why Tuscarora Lake has no grade
Tuscarora Lake has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Tuscarora Lake is Not Rated — not an F. Its 20.5-foot median from 4 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.
Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Tuscarora Lake is a 362-acre lake in Madison County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 63 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-08-16. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Tuscarora Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water20.5 ft of visibility
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Tuscarora Lake
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Crystal clear, you can see 20.5 ft down. TSI 34.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 20.5 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 34 | Oligotrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~63 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~24 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 362 acres |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Tuscarora Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Fishing Tuscarora Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Tuscarora Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Erieville Reservoir Dam (completed 1850), built primarily for navigation on the CHITTENANGO CREEK; earth-type dam, 55 ft tall and 2,000 ft long.
- Surface area
- 362 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,609 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 10,362 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.31 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- New York State Canal Corporation
All listed purposes: Navigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NY00369 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Madison County
Frequently asked questions about Tuscarora Lake
Where is Tuscarora Lake?
- Tuscarora Lake is a lake in Madison County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Tuscarora Lake?
- Tuscarora Lake in Madison County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 20.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 362 acres.
Is Tuscarora Lake safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Tuscarora Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Tuscarora Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 63 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 362 acres.
Explore Tuscarora Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
8.8 mi away · 167 ft
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS4 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)