Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake
Towner County, North Dakota240 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 54 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake in Towner County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Surface area: 240 acres.
Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake is a 240-acre lake in Towner County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 54 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 Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Bisbee-Big Coulee 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 Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Bisbee-Big Coulee 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 8 ft. TSI 47.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8ft | 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. | 47 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake typically sits around 63°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 68°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 72°F) and coldest in May (about 53°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (53°F) to its warmest (72°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 15 field readings (2015–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~54 ft est.
Surface area
240 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 Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
110 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,562 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
- Bisbee Dam-Big CouleePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake
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Fishing Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Big Coulee Dam (completed 1968), built primarily for recreation on the Big Coulee; earth-type dam, 39 ft tall and 1,170 ft long.
- Surface area
- 240 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,222.8 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,103 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 108 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- City of Bisbee
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00015 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.14 km)
Nearby Lakes in Towner County
Frequently asked questions about Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake
Where is Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake?
- Bisbee-Big Coulee 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 Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake?
- Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake in Towner County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Surface area: 240 acres.
Is Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake?
- Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake typically sits around 63°F at the surface in October, from 15 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2015–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 54 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 240 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake?
- Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Bisbee Dam-Big Coulee. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake?
- Bisbee-Big Coulee 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.
Explore Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake across LakeQuality
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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
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