Wise Lake
Wise County, Virginia58 acresView mapDirections
Virginia DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Wise Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
Wise Lake in Wise County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.2 µg/L. Surface area: 57.7 acres.
Wise Lake is a 58-acre mesotrophic lake in Wise County, Virginia. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Wise County, Wise Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Virginia DEQ, last sampled 2022-10-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Wise Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10.5 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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 Wise 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 Wise Lake
These are the measurements Virginia DEQ publishes for Wise Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.2 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10.5ft | 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) | 2.2µg/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. | 40 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Wise Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
58 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Wise Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Wise Lake
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Fishing Wise Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2013–2022).
Water clarity
Improving4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.36 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.08 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Wise Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Bear Creek Dam, built primarily for water supply on the Tr-Bear Creek; earth-type dam, 45 ft tall and 550 ft long.
- Surface area
- 57.7 ac
- Normal storage
- 576 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,155 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.32 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Town of Wise
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID VA195011 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Wise County
Frequently asked questions about Wise Lake
Where is Wise Lake?
- Wise Lake is a lake in Wise County, Virginia. Its water-quality measurements are published by Virginia DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Wise Lake?
- Wise Lake in Wise County, Virginia has water-quality measurements published by Virginia DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.2 µg/L. Surface area: 57.7 acres.
Is Wise Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Wise Lake across LakeQuality
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Mesotrophic Lakes in Virginia
Where this data comes from
116 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
21VASWCB116 samples · 2013–2022
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
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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.