Birch Creek Reservoir
Rich County, UtahView mapDirections
Utah DWQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Birch Creek Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · pH / acidity
- 14 ft max depth
- Limited data
Birch Creek Reservoir in Rich County, Utah has water-quality measurements published by Utah DWQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 41 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 12.3 µg/L.
Birch Creek Reservoir is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Rich County, Utah with an estimated average depth of about 14 feet. Compared to the 7 other monitored lakes in Rich County, Birch Creek Reservoir ranks #8 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Utah DWQ, last sampled 2021-09-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Birch Creek Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Birch Creek Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity, temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Birch Creek Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Utah Division of Water Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Birch Creek Reservoir
These are the measurements Utah DWQ publishes for Birch Creek Reservoir, 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 7.4 ft. Phosphorus 41 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 12.3 µg/L. TSI 54.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 41µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 12.3µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 54 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Lake Details
Max depth
~14 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Utah has not published bathymetry for Birch Creek Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
27 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
57 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
6,919 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 Birch Creek Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Birch Creek Reservoir in Rich County, Utah — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Birch Creek Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Birch Creek Reservoir
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Fishing Birch Creek Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Birch Creek Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Birch Creek No. 2 (completed 1951), built primarily for irrigation on the Birch Creek; earth-type dam, 101 ft tall and 474 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 2,256 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,736 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 17 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- WOODRUFF RESERVOIR & IRRIGATION COMPANY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID UT00041 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.23 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Birch Creek Reservoir 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: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit UT-L-16010101-002_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Rich County
Frequently asked questions about Birch Creek Reservoir
Where is Birch Creek Reservoir?
- Birch Creek Reservoir is a lake in Rich County, Utah. Its water-quality measurements are published by Utah DWQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Birch Creek Reservoir?
- Birch Creek Reservoir in Rich County, Utah has water-quality measurements published by Utah DWQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 41 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 12.3 µg/L.
Is Birch Creek Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Birch Creek Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity, temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Birch Creek Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Birch Creek Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 14 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
12 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Utah Department Of Environmental Quality
UTAHDWQ_WQX12 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Field Measurements
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)