Blue Lake Beach
Monona County, IowaView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from Iowa DNR for this lake.
- Impaired · Turbidity
- 29 ft max depth
- Limited data
Blue Lake Beach in Monona County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported.
Blue Lake Beach is a lake in Monona County, Iowa with an estimated average depth of about 29 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Iowa DNR, last sampled 2024-08-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Based on E. coli testing, Blue Lake Beach frequently exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 11.4% of 105 samples across 7 seasons.
This is a historical summary of past testing, not a current condition — bacteria levels change quickly, especially after rain. Always check Iowa’s current beach and health-department advisories before swimming.
Whether Blue Lake Beach is safe to swim in today is a call for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Blue Lake Beach
These are the measurements Iowa DNR publishes for Blue Lake Beach, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data.
Ask about Blue Lake Beach
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~29 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Iowa has not published bathymetry for Blue Lake Beach.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
124 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,033 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 Blue Lake Beach
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Blue Lake Beach in Monona County, Iowa — 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.
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Fishing Blue Lake Beach
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2021–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+79.65 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+48.51 µg/L/yr4 years
EPA Impairment Status
Blue Lake Beach is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IA 06-WEM-1728 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Monona County
Frequently asked questions about Blue Lake Beach
Where is Blue Lake Beach?
- Blue Lake Beach is a lake in Monona County, Iowa. Its water-quality measurements are published by Iowa DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Blue Lake Beach?
- Blue Lake Beach in Monona County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported.
Is Blue Lake Beach safe to swim in?
- Based on E. coli testing, Blue Lake Beach frequently exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 11.4% of 105 samples across 7 seasons. That is a historical summary of past bacteria testing, not a current reading and not a swimming clearance. Bacteria levels can spike quickly after heavy rain, so whether Blue Lake Beach is safe to swim in today is a call for Iowa's water agency and the county health department; check their current beach advisories before you swim.
How deep is Blue Lake Beach?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Blue Lake Beach, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 29 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
42 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data
21IOWA_WQX42 samples · 2021–2024
Analytical methods
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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)