Cedar Creek Lake
Lincoln County, Kentucky784 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Cedar Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
- Limited data
Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 12.7 µg/L. Surface area: 784.4 acres.
Cedar Creek Lake is a 784-acre mesotrophic lake in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Lincoln County, Cedar Creek Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2018-10-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Cedar Creek Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Cedar Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cedar Creek Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Cedar Creek Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Cedar Creek 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. Phosphorus 12.7 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 12.7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Cedar Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
784 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
No bathymetric survey has been published for Cedar Creek Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Cedar Creek Lake MiddlePublic
- Cedar Creek Lake UpperPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Cedar Creek Lake
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Fishing Cedar Creek Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2013–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.82 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cedar Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cedar Creek Dam (completed 1999), built primarily for recreation on the Trib Dix River; earth-type dam, 86 ft tall and 2,110 ft long.
- Surface area
- 784.4 ac
- Normal storage
- 17,697 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 47,344 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 21.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY01167 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Cedar Creek Lake 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KY-59 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lincoln County
Frequently asked questions about Cedar Creek Lake
Where is Cedar Creek Lake?
- Cedar Creek Lake is a lake in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cedar Creek Lake?
- Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 12.7 µg/L. Surface area: 784.4 acres.
Is Cedar Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cedar Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Cedar Creek Lake?
- Cedar Creek Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Cedar Creek Lake Middle, Cedar Creek Lake Upper. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Cedar Creek Lake?
- Cedar Creek Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Cedar Creek Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Kentucky
Other Lakes in Kentucky
Mesotrophic Lakes in Kentucky
Where this data comes from
31 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2013–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX31 samples · 2013–2018
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory