Armourdale Dam Lake
Towner County, North Dakota80 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Armourdale Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 17 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Armourdale Dam Lake in Towner County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 79.8 acres.
Armourdale Dam Lake is a 80-acre lake in Towner County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 17 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2025-10-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Armourdale Dam Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Armourdale Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Armourdale Dam Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Armourdale Dam Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Armourdale Dam Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.2 ft. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Armourdale Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Armourdale Dam Lake typically sits around 63°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 63°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 64°F) and coldest in May (about 49°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (49°F) to its warmest (64°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 18 field readings (2016–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Armourdale Dam Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~17 ft est.
Surface area
80 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ND DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Dakota has not published bathymetry for Armourdale Dam Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,654 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Armourdale DamPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Armourdale Dam Lake
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Fishing Armourdale Dam Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Armourdale Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Armourdale Dam (completed 1961), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Badger Coulee-TR; earth-type dam, 46 ft tall and 650 ft long.
- Surface area
- 79.8 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,123 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,162 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 17 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- ND Game & Fish
All listed purposes: Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00008 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Armourdale Dam Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit ND-09020315-006-L_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Towner County
Frequently asked questions about Armourdale Dam Lake
Where is Armourdale Dam Lake?
- Armourdale Dam Lake is a lake in Towner County, North Dakota. Its water-quality measurements are published by ND DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Armourdale Dam Lake?
- Armourdale Dam Lake in Towner County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 79.8 acres.
Is Armourdale Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Armourdale Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Armourdale Dam Lake?
- Armourdale Dam Lake typically sits around 63°F at the surface in October, from 18 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2016–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Armourdale Dam Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Armourdale Dam Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 17 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 79.8 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Armourdale Dam Lake?
- Armourdale Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Armourdale Dam. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Armourdale Dam Lake?
- Armourdale Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Dakota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Dakota Department Of Environmental Quality
21NDHDWQ_WQX8 samples · 2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
- 4500 NO3 E ~ Nitrate in Water- Cadmium Reduction
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.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory