Water Lake
Richmond County, North Carolina56 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Water Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 33 ft max depth
- Limited data
Water Lake in Richmond County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.3 µg/L. Surface area: 56 acres.
Water Lake is a 56-acre mesotrophic lake in Richmond County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 33 feet. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Richmond County, Water Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-09-23. 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 Water 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 Water Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Water Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Chlorophyll-a 3.3 µg/L. TSI 42.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.3µg/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. | 42 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Water Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~33 ft est.
Surface area
56 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 Water Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
325 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.
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Stays near Water Lake
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Fishing Water Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Water Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hamlet City Lake Upper Dam (completed 1908), built primarily for recreation on the Marks Creek; earth-type dam, 15 ft tall and 810 ft long.
- Surface area
- 56 ac
- Normal storage
- 447 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 735 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.09 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Hamlet, Hamlet Water System
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00637 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Richmond County
Frequently asked questions about Water Lake
Where is Water Lake?
- Water Lake is a lake in Richmond 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 Water Lake?
- Water Lake in Richmond County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.3 µg/L. Surface area: 56 acres.
Is Water Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Water Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Water Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 33 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 56 acres.
Explore Water Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
14 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ14 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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)