University Lake
Orange County, North Carolina213 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for University Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 32 ft max depth
University Lake in Orange County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 33.3 µg/L. Surface area: 213 acres.
University Lake is a 213-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Orange County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 6 other monitored lakes in Orange County, University Lake ranks #6 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2024-02-22. 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 University 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 University Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for University 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 2.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 33.3 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 40µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 33.3µg/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. | 62 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about University Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~32 ft est.
Surface area
213 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for University Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
30 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
367 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 University Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near University Lake in Orange 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 University Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near University Lake
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Fishing University Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2023).
Water clarity
Stable4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-11.95 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.1 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
University Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the University Lake Dam (completed 1932), built primarily for water supply on the Morgan Creek; earth-type dam, 39 ft tall and 835 ft long.
- Surface area
- 213 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,030 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,836 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 29.8 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- UNC-Chapel Hill Environment, Health and Safety
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00782 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Orange County
Frequently asked questions about University Lake
Where is University Lake?
- University Lake is a lake in Orange 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 University Lake?
- University Lake in Orange County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 33.3 µg/L. Surface area: 213 acres.
Is University Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is University Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers University Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 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 213 acres.
Explore University Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in North Carolina
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Hypereutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
156 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS North Carolina Water Science Center
USGS-NC116 samples · 2020–2024 - North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ40 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk method
- P, wu, WCA, persulfate CF color
- Pigments, algae, EPA445.0 w/ACTN
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
- HACH 2100Q, NTRU
- WSSSOP
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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)