Occoquan Reservoir is a 2100 acres (849.8 ha) reservoir in northeast Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, southwest of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, straddling part of the boundary between Fairfax County and Prince William County, west of Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

. It is formed by the Occoquan Dam on the Occoquan River

Occoquan River

The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in northern Virginia, in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The river is long, and its watershed covers about . It is formed by the confluence of Broad Run and Cedar Run in Prince William County; Bull Run enters it east-southeast of...

 .

Managed by the Fairfax County Water Authority

Fairfax County Water Authority

Fairfax County Water Authority is the main water company in the Northern Virginia region of the United States, and one of the three major water providers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area...

, it provides an important water supply to surrounding settlements in northern Virginia, with an output of 17 million US gallons a day (64,000 m³/d) to 1.2 million people, including over half of the population of Prince William County. The Occoquan Reservoir is officially under Prince William County, despite being on the border with Fairfax County. The major drainages tributary to the Occoquan Reservoir can be divided into two principal sub-basins: Bull Run

Bull Run (Occoquan River)

Bull Run is a free-flowing tributary stream of the Potomac River that originates from a spring in the Bull Run Mountains in Loudoun County, Virginia, and flows south to the Occoquan River...

 and Occoquan Creek.

Despite being a major fresh water source, Occoquan Reservoir is listed on Virginia's Dirty Water List, with recorded high levels of phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

, turbidity, low dissolved oxygen, the presence of copper sulfate and the growing presence of pharmaceuticals, largely due to human land uses, population pressure and poor management. In 1968, the Virginia State Water Control Board (SWCB) commissioned a study of the Occoquan Reservoir and its tributary streams to draw up a plan of sustainable management for the reservoir. A 1970 analysis stated that the reservoir was "highly eutrophic...", and further, that "the sewage plant effluents are mainly responsible for the advanced stage of eutrophication occurring...". As a result, in 1971, A Policy for Waste Treatment and Water Quality Management in the Occoquan Watershed was approved by the SWCB.

Recreation

The reservoir can be accessed by Interstate 95

Interstate 95

Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...

, which has attracted fishing recreational activities on the lake since 1961. Largemouth bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

, bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

, black and white crappie

Crappie

Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...

, channel catfish

Channel catfish

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...

, flathead catfish

Flathead catfish

The flathead catfish , also called the yellow cat, opelousas, and shovelhead cat, are large North American freshwater catfish. This is the only species of the genus Pylodictis...

, northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

, and white perch

White perch

The white perch, Morone americana, is not a true perch but is, rather, a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America.The name "white perch" is sometimes erroneously applied to the white crappie....

are fished on the lake despite some pollution problems. The Occoquan Boat Club (OBC), founded in 1979 by Rick Evans, is a major boating club located on the reservoir, organizing rowing, sponsoring crew races, sending teams to regattas, and advocating rowing in Northern Virginia. The OBC has 180 members and has over 19 shells, recognizable by their red and black striping on the bow. The club operates singles, doubles, sweep fours and sculling quads rowing sessions on the lake.