Central Park Lake
Jones County, Iowa25 acresView mapDirections
Iowa DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Central Park Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Central Park Lake in Jones County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Surface area: 25 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Central Park Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 16 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Iowa DNR.
Central Park Lake is a 25-acre lake in Jones County, Iowa. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Iowa DNR, last sampled 2023-07-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Central Park Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Central Park Lake
These are the measurements Iowa DNR publishes for Central Park Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | 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. | 70 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Central Park Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
25 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Central Park Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Stays near Central Park Lake
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Fishing Central Park Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2021–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+74.25 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+2.47 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Central Park Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Central Park Lake Dam (completed 1965), built primarily for recreation on the TR-MINERAL CREEK; earth-type dam, 23 ft tall and 665 ft long.
- Surface area
- 25 ac
- Normal storage
- 300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 481 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.62 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Jones County Conservation Board
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IA00561 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Jones County
Frequently asked questions about Central Park Lake
Where is Central Park Lake?
- Central Park Lake is a lake in Jones County, Iowa. Its water-quality measurements are published by Iowa DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Central Park Lake?
- Central Park Lake in Jones County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Surface area: 25 acres.
Is Central Park Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Central Park Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS1 sample · 2023
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.