Upper Blackwater River Lake
Franklin County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Upper Blackwater River Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Upper Blackwater River Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.3 µg/L.
Upper Blackwater River Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Compared to the 12 other monitored lakes in Franklin County, Upper Blackwater River Lake ranks #13 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2026-05-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
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. Upper Blackwater River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Upper Blackwater River Lake 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 Upper Blackwater River Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Upper Blackwater River 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 3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 17.3 µg/L. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 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) | 17.3µg/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. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Upper Blackwater River Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Upper Blackwater River Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Upper Blackwater River Lake in Franklin County, Virginia — 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 Upper Blackwater River Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Upper Blackwater River Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 14 years of monitoring (2012–2025).
Water clarity
Stable14 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.43 µg/L/yr14 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.25 µg/L/yr14 years
EPA Impairment Status
Upper Blackwater River Lake 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: Fish consumption, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit VAW-L10L_BWR03A10 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Franklin County
Frequently asked questions about Upper Blackwater River Lake
Where is Upper Blackwater River Lake?
- Upper Blackwater River Lake is a lake in Franklin County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Upper Blackwater River Lake?
- Upper Blackwater River Lake in Franklin County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.3 µg/L.
Is Upper Blackwater River Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Upper Blackwater River Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Upper Blackwater River Lake across LakeQuality
2.7 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
399 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB399 samples · 2012–2026
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
- 446.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophylls and Pheopigments in Phytoplankton by Spectrophotometry
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