Big Barbee Lake
Kosciusko County, IndianaView mapDirections
IDEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Big Barbee Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 42 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Big Barbee Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Big Barbee Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 42 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Indiana DNR.
Big Barbee Lake is a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana with an estimated average depth of about 42 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, IDEM, last sampled 2021-08-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Big Barbee Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Barbee Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Big Barbee Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Big Barbee Lake
These are the measurements IDEM publishes for Big Barbee Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 3.1 ft of visibility. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.1ft | 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. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Big Barbee Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Big Barbee Lake typically sits around 74°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 76°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 81°F) and coldest in Jun (about 72°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (72°F) to its warmest (81°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 13 field readings (2012–2020) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Big Barbee Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~42 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by IDEM
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Indiana has not published bathymetry for Big Barbee Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
48 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
287 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
827 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.
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Stays near Big Barbee Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Big Barbee Lake
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Fishing Big Barbee Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+376.4 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+7.82 µg/L/yr3 years
EPA Impairment Status
Big Barbee Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit INB06P1050_00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
6 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Big Barbee Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Yogi Bear Jellystone Park WwtpPierceton · 1.9 mi away · NPDES IN0030911Recent violation
- Lakeland Regional Wastewater Collection SystemLeesburg · 1 mi away · NPDES INR10H322
- Kosciusko County Bridge 18 Wetland MitigationPierceton · 4.5 mi away · NPDES INRA02207
- Shiloh Industries PiercetonPierceton · 4.6 mi away · NPDES INRM01680
- Aludyne North America, Llc PiercetonPierceton · 4.6 mi away · NPDES INRM02777
- Linacast Incorporated - Linamar Light Metals PiercetonPierceton · 4.6 mi away · NPDES INRM03244
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Kosciusko County
Frequently asked questions about Big Barbee Lake
Where is Big Barbee Lake?
- Big Barbee Lake is a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Its water-quality measurements are published by IDEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Big Barbee Lake?
- Big Barbee Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility.
Is Big Barbee Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Barbee Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Big Barbee Lake?
- Big Barbee Lake typically sits around 74°F at the surface in August, from 13 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2012–2020). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Big Barbee Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Big Barbee Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 42 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Big Barbee Lake?
- Public access to Big Barbee Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Indiana's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Big Barbee Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS11 samples · 2021
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)