Blind Pony Lake
Saline County, Missouri95 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Blind Pony Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 31 ft max depth
Blind Pony Lake in Saline County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 63.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 38.4 µg/L. Surface area: 95 acres.
Blind Pony Lake is a 95-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Saline County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2024-08-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Blind Pony Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Blind Pony Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Blind Pony Lake
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Blind Pony 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 2.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 63.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 38.4 µg/L. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 63.7µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 38.4µg/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. | 65 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Blind Pony Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Blind Pony Lake typically sits around 82°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 82°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 84°F) and coldest in May (about 71°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (71°F) to its warmest (84°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 60 field readings (2010–2024) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Blind Pony Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 ft est.
Surface area
95 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Blind Pony Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
719 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Blind Pony Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Blind Pony Lake in Saline County, Missouri — 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 Blind Pony Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Blind Pony Lake
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Fishing Blind Pony Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+7.7 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.07 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Blind Pony Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Blind Pony Dam (completed 1968), built primarily for recreation on the PONY CREEK; earth-type dam, 35 ft tall and 2,300 ft long.
- Surface area
- 95 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,812 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.05 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- MO DEPT OF CONSERVATION
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO20041 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Blind Pony Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MO_7189.00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Saline County
Frequently asked questions about Blind Pony Lake
Where is Blind Pony Lake?
- Blind Pony Lake is a lake in Saline County, Missouri. Its water-quality measurements are published by Missouri DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Blind Pony Lake?
- Blind Pony Lake in Saline County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 63.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 38.4 µg/L. Surface area: 95 acres.
Is Blind Pony Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Blind Pony Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Blind Pony Lake?
- Blind Pony Lake typically sits around 82°F at the surface in August, from 60 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2024). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Blind Pony Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Blind Pony Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 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 95 acres.
Explore Blind Pony Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
89 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
UMC88 samples · 2020–2024 - Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources
MDNR1 sample · 2023
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Total, Whole-water, Alkaline Persulfate Digest
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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)