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Discrete depth profiles of temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH were collected with a YSI water quality probe and discrete depth profiles of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were collected with a LI-COR underwater light meter from 2013 to 2020 in five drinking water reservoirs in southwestern Virginia, USA. Secchi disk depth data complement the PAR data to estimate water transparency. Additional variables measured by the YSI are conductivity and ORP (oxidation-reduction potential, or redox); all YSI and PAR depth profiles were collected at approximately 1-meter intervals. These reservoirs are: Beaverdam Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia), Carvins Cove Reservoir (Roanoke, Virginia), Falling Creek Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia), Gatewood Reservoir (Pulaski, Virginia), and Spring Hollow Reservoir (Salem, Virginia). Beaverdam, Carvins Cove, Falling Creek, and Spring Hollow Reservoirs are owned and operated by the Western Virginia Water Authority as primary or secondary drinking water sources for Roanoke, Virginia, and Gatewood Reservoir is a drinking water source for the Town of Pulaski, Virginia. The data package consists of two datasets: 1) YSI and PAR profiles; and 2) Secchi depth data. The YSI and PAR depth profiles and Secchi depths were measured at the deepest site of each reservoir adjacent to the dam (Site 50), as well as at other in-reservoir transects in Falling Creek Reservoir and Beaverdam Reservoir (Site 45, 30, 20, 10). YSI measurements were taken at multiple inflow sites at Falling Creek Reservoir, Beaverdam Reservoir, and Carvins Cove Reservoir (site 99, 100, 101, 102, 200, 300, 400), as well as outflow sites at Falling Creek Reservoir and Beaverdam Reservoir (Site 01). The samples were collected approximately fortnightly in the spring months (March - May), weekly in the summer and early autumn (June - September), and monthly in the late autumn and winter (October - February), though sampling frequency and duration varied among reservoirs and years.