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LakeQuality

Brown Co State Fishing Lake

Brown County, KansasView mapDirections

NR
Not rated

Not enough samples to grade — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). No letter yet. Here is what we do have.

Water temp
No reading
No gauge
Clarity
1.3 ft
Secchi · sampled 2017
Max depth
~37 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Level
No reading
No gauge
Trend
No reading
Not enough history
  • Impaired · Noxious aquatic plants
  • 37 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Brown Co State Fishing Lake in Brown County, Kansas is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 88 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 64.5 µg/L.

Clarity
1.3 ft
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Phosphorus
88 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a
64.5 µg/L
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Why Brown Co State Fishing Lake has no grade

We grade a lake only when the monitoring record supports a letter: at least three phosphorus or chlorophyll-a samples in the last ten years, scored against EPA National Lakes Assessment thresholds for this lake’s ecoregion. For Brown Co State Fishing Lake, no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). Sampling here has recorded water clarity, phosphorus and algae (chlorophyll-a).

Not Rated is not an F. It is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. The water here may be excellent or poor; nobody has measured enough of it to say. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.

Sampling is run by KDHE and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.

Brown Co State Fishing Lake is a lake in Brown County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-08-23. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

Swimming Safety

Not rated

Limited data

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Brown Co State Fishing Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.

Compare the safest swimming lakes near Kansas City

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Water quality measurements for Brown Co State Fishing Lake

These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.

Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 88 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 64.5 µg/L. TSI 71.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)1.3 ftNot graded
Phosphorus88 µg/LNot graded
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)64.5 µg/LNot graded
Trophic State Index (TSI)71Hypereutrophic

Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth~37 ft est.
Average Depth~11 ft est.

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Brown Co State Fishing Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area
5 sq mi
Surface area
67 acres
Shoreline
1.9 mi
Elevation
1,014 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.

Fishing Brown Co State Fishing Lake

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Brown Co State Fishing Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Brown CO State Fishing Lake (completed 1953), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Wolf River-Tr; earth-type dam, 42 ft tall and 1,210 ft long.

Normal storage
490 ac-ft
Max storage
1,020 ac-ft
Hazard class
Low
Owner
KANSAS DEPT OF WILDLIFE PARKS & TOURISM

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00865 · Operator website

EPA Impairment Status

Brown Co State Fishing Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

Noxious aquatic plantsNutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)Oxygen depletion (low DO)pH / acidity

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM010301 · Official waterbody report · Matched by proximity (0.5 km)

Graded lakes near Brown Co State Fishing Lake

Brown Co State Fishing Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.

Nearby Lakes in Brown County

Frequently asked questions about Brown Co State Fishing Lake

Where is Brown Co State Fishing Lake?

Brown Co State Fishing Lake is a lake in Brown County, Kansas. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years).

What is the water quality grade for Brown Co State Fishing Lake?

Brown Co State Fishing Lake in Brown County, Kansas is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 88 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 64.5 µg/L.

Is Brown Co State Fishing Lake safe to swim in?

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Brown Co State Fishing Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.

How deep is Brown Co State Fishing Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Brown Co State Fishing Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 37 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.

Where this data comes from

5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Kansas Department Of Health And Environment21KAN001_WQX5 samples · 2017

Analytical methods

  • Depth, Secchi disk depth
  • Phosphorus by Colorimetry
  • 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.

Other records on this page

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database

Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)