Iron County Lake Quality
Missouri, 2 lakes, average grade B (Good)
Iron County has 2 monitored lakes — a thin enough sample that one or two stressed lakes can move the county average noticeably. Use the per-lake pages below for what actually matters. Every one of those lakes carries an A–F grade, so the county-level summary covers the full set rather than a monitored subset. With an average grade of B, Iron County sits comfortably above the Missouri median.
The county's lakes lean shallow, which makes the grades sensitive to wind, sediment-resuspension, and any nutrient inputs from the watershed. The cleanest lake on the books is Council Bluff Lake (A); the most-stressed is Shepard Mountain Lake Intake (D).
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Quick Answers for Iron County
Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Council Bluff Lake — or check the official Missouri fishing regulations.
All Lakes in Iron County
2 lakes2 graded lakes
| # | Lake | Grade | Clarity | Phosphorus | Algae | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACouncil Bluff LakeIron | A | 13.1 ft | 5.7 µg/L | 1.3 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
| 2 | DShepard Mountain Lake IntakeIron | D | 2.8 ft | 37 µg/L | 18.3 µg/L | No recent samples | Not recorded |
Lake Match
Which lake suits how you actually use one?
Six questions — swimming, fishing, quiet, cabins, drive time — and a shortlist of graded lakes that fit, with the water quality behind each one.
Other Counties in Missouri
See how Iron County stacks up in the national county water-quality rankings, or browse the full directory of graded lakes across all 49 states and 2 Canadian provinces.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.