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LakeQuality

Cat Creek Reference Lake

Elmore County, IdahoView mapDirections

No nutrient or algae sampling on record from Idaho DEQ for this lake.

  • Impaired · Mercury
  • Limited data

Cat Creek Reference Lake in Elmore County, Idaho has water-quality measurements published by Idaho DEQ, shown here as reported.

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Cat Creek Reference Lake is a lake in Elmore County, Idaho.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, IDEQ, last sampled 2016-04-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

No reading

Recreation use not supported

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cat Creek Reference Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Cat Creek Reference Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Cat Creek Reference Lake

These are the measurements Idaho DEQ publishes for Cat Creek Reference Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

No clarity data.

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Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

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Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Cat Creek Reference Lake in Elmore County, Idaho — 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 Cat Creek Reference Lake

EPA Impairment Status

Cat Creek Reference Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit ID17050113SW005L_0L · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Elmore County

Frequently asked questions about Cat Creek Reference Lake

Where is Cat Creek Reference Lake?

Cat Creek Reference Lake is a lake in Elmore County, Idaho. Its water-quality measurements are published by Idaho DEQ and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Cat Creek Reference Lake?

Cat Creek Reference Lake in Elmore County, Idaho has water-quality measurements published by Idaho DEQ, shown here as reported.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Cat Creek Reference Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cat Creek Reference Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Bureau of Reclamation1119USBR_WQX1 sample · 2016

Analytical methods

  • 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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