Iron County Lake Quality
Missouri, 7 lakes, average grade B (Good)
Iron County has 7 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. 2 of those lakes carry an A–F grade. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. 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
7 lakes · 2 graded, 5 not rated2 graded lakes · 5 not rated, hidden
| # | 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 |
| NRAsarco LakeIron | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded | |
| NRLake KillarneyIron | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded | |
| NRCrane LakeIron | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded | |
| NRSnow Hollow LakeIron | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded | |
| NRAmax Tailing PondIron | NR | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | No recent samples | Not recorded |
NR = not rated: there is not enough recent sampling to support a letter. That is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 (insufficient information), not a failing grade. How grading works.
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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 United States (49 states), Canada (Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador), and 38 other country hubs..
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.