Busse Lake Main Pool
Cook County, IllinoisView mapDirections
Illinois EPA publishes the water-quality measurements for Busse Lake Main Pool. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 42 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Busse Lake Main Pool in Cook County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility.
Busse Lake Main Pool is a lake in Cook County, Illinois with an estimated average depth of about 42 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2022-07-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingBacteria advisory
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Busse Lake Main Pool is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pCBs, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Busse Lake Main Pool is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Busse Lake Main Pool
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Busse Lake Main Pool, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.5 ft. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.5ft | 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. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Busse Lake Main Pool
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Busse Lake Main Pool typically sits around 63°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 74°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 75°F) and coldest in May (about 62°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (62°F) to its warmest (75°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 183 field readings (2013–2022) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Busse Lake Main Pool water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~42 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Illinois EPA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Illinois has not published bathymetry for Busse Lake Main Pool.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
53 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
353 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
8.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
682 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 Busse Lake Main Pool
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Fishing Busse Lake Main Pool
EPA Impairment Status
Busse Lake Main Pool 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: Fish consumption, Recreation, Other.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IL_RGZX · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
10 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Busse Lake Main Pool under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 4 classified by the EPA as major dischargers. 7 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Mwrdgc-John E. Egan WrpChicago · 1.5 mi away · NPDES IL0036340MajorRecent violation
- Itasca, Village Of - Prospect Avenue WwtpItasca · 3.4 mi away · NPDES IL0079073MajorRecent violation
- Wood Dale North Stp, City OfWood Dale · 4.3 mi away · NPDES IL0020061MajorRecent violation
- Itasca Stp, Village OfItasca · 3.8 mi away · NPDES IL0026280Major
- Exxonmobil Des Plaines TerminalArlington Heights · 2.8 mi away · NPDES IL0066362Recent violation
- Us Energy - A Division Of Us Venture IncArlington Heights · 2.8 mi away · NPDES IL0062791Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Busse Lake Main Pool
Where is Busse Lake Main Pool?
- Busse Lake Main Pool is a lake in Cook County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Busse Lake Main Pool?
- Busse Lake Main Pool in Cook County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility.
Is Busse Lake Main Pool safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Busse Lake Main Pool is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), pCBs, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Busse Lake Main Pool?
- Busse Lake Main Pool typically sits around 63°F at the surface in October, from 183 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2013–2022). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Busse Lake Main Pool?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Busse Lake Main Pool, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 42 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Busse Lake Main Pool?
- Public access to Busse Lake Main Pool is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Illinois's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Illinois Water Science Center
USGS-IL1 sample · 2022
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)