Wells Mills Reservoir
Ocean County, New Jersey22 acresView mapDirections
NJDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Wells Mills Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Limited data
Wells Mills Reservoir in Ocean County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.6 µg/L. Surface area: 22 acres.
Wells Mills Reservoir is a 22-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Ocean County, New Jersey. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Ocean County, Wells Mills Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency, last sampled 2021-11-10. 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 Wells Mills Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Wells Mills Reservoir
These are the measurements NJDEP publishes for Wells Mills Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.3 ft. Phosphorus 11.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.6 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 11.7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.6µg/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. | 44 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
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Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
22 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Wells Mills Reservoir, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Wells Mills Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Wells Mills Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Wells Mill Reservoir Dam, built primarily for recreation on the Oyster Creek; earth-type dam, 9 ft tall and 330 ft long.
- Surface area
- 22 ac
- Normal storage
- 105 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4.28 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- County of Ocean
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NJ00470 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.21 km)
Nearby Lakes in Ocean County
Frequently asked questions about Wells Mills Reservoir
Where is Wells Mills Reservoir?
- Wells Mills Reservoir is a lake in Ocean County, New Jersey. Its water-quality measurements are published by NJDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Wells Mills Reservoir?
- Wells Mills Reservoir in Ocean County, New Jersey has water-quality measurements published by NJDEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.6 µg/L. Surface area: 22 acres.
Is Wells Mills Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Wells Mills Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
45 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-21.
Collected and reported by
- NJDEP Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring
NJDEP_BFBM45 samples · 2020–2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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.