Upper Lake
Stafford County, VirginiaView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Upper Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Limited data
Upper Lake in Stafford County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.3 µg/L.
Upper Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Stafford County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Stafford County, Upper Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2018-10-15. 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 Upper 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 Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Upper Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.7 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.3 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Upper Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
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Fishing Upper Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2017–2024).
Water clarity
Improving4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.49 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.3 µg/L/yr4 years
Nearby Lakes in Stafford County
Frequently asked questions about Upper Lake
Where is Upper Lake?
- Upper Lake is a lake in Stafford 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 Lake?
- Upper Lake in Stafford County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.3 µg/L.
Is Upper Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Upper Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Virginia
Other Lakes in Virginia
Mesotrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
84 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB84 samples · 2017–2018
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
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.