Center Lake
Kosciusko County, IndianaView mapDirections
IDEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Center Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 34 ft max depth
- Limited data
Center Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.7 ft visibility.
Center Lake is a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana with an estimated average depth of about 34 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, IDEM, last sampled 2021-08-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Center Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Based on E. coli testing, Center Lake frequently exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 20.8% of 24 samples across 3 seasons.
This is a historical summary of past testing, not a current condition — bacteria levels change quickly, especially after rain. Always check Indiana’s current beach and health-department advisories before swimming.
Whether Center Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Center Lake
These are the measurements IDEM publishes for Center Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.7 ft. TSI 46.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.7ft | 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. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Center Lake
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Lake Details
Max depth
~34 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Indiana has not published bathymetry for Center Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
52 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
106 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
794 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.
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Stays near Center Lake
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Fishing Center Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+6.27 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.05 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Center 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: Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit INB06P1008_00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
47 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Center Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 3 classified by the EPA as major dischargers. 7 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Warsaw WwtpWarsaw · 1.3 mi away · NPDES IN0060917MajorRecent violation
- Phoenix Warsaw Industrial Investors LlcWarsaw · 2.1 mi away · NPDES IN0003387MajorRecent violation
- Warsaw #1 WwtpWarsaw · 0.9 mi away · NPDES IN0024805Major
- Warsaw Foundry Company, Inc.Warsaw · 0.3 mi away · NPDES IN0063487Recent violation
- Zimmer Biomet Incorporated Corporate Office BuildingWarsaw · 0.6 mi away · NPDES IN0064907Recent violation
- Zimmer Manufacturing Building 19Warsaw · 1.3 mi away · NPDES IN0064909Recent 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 Kosciusko County
Frequently asked questions about Center Lake
Where is Center Lake?
- Center Lake is a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Its water-quality measurements are published by IDEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Center Lake?
- Center Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.7 ft visibility.
Is Center Lake safe to swim in?
- Based on E. coli testing, Center Lake frequently exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 20.8% of 24 samples across 3 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 Center Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for Indiana's water agency and the county health department; check their current beach advisories before you swim.
How deep is Center Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Center Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 34 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
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS11 samples · 2021
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)