Waterville Lake
Haywood County, North CarolinaView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Waterville Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 34 ft max depth
- Limited data
Waterville Lake in Haywood County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.5 µg/L.
Waterville Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Haywood County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 34 feet. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Haywood County, Waterville Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2022-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Waterville Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
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 Waterville 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 Waterville Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Waterville 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. Phosphorus 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 17.5 µg/L. TSI 61.
| 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 | 60µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 17.5µg/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. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Waterville Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~34 ft est.
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 Waterville Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
388 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
227 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
6.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,303 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 Waterville Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Waterville Lake in Haywood 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 Waterville Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Waterville Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at North Carolina’s top lakes →
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Fishing Waterville Lake
Nearby Lakes in Haywood County
Frequently asked questions about Waterville Lake
Where is Waterville Lake?
- Waterville Lake is a lake in Haywood 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 Waterville Lake?
- Waterville Lake in Haywood County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.5 µg/L.
Is Waterville Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Waterville Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Waterville Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 34 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Waterville Lake across LakeQuality
4 documented falls within 17 mi, nearest Mouse Creek Falls
18.9 mi away · recorded at 108°F
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at North Carolina's top lakes, each with its readings
North Carolina's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
Planning a trip around Great Smoky Mountains?
Waterville Lake is about 27 miles from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Great Smoky Mountains →More lakes in North Carolina
Other Lakes in North Carolina
Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ20 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- 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)