Centralia Lake
Nemaha County, Kansas404 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Centralia Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Noxious aquatic plants
- 45 ft max depth
- Limited data
Centralia Lake in Nemaha County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 140 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 21 µg/L. Surface area: 404.4 acres.
Centralia Lake is a 404-acre lake in Nemaha County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2013-07-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Centralia Lake covers about 400 acres in Nemaha County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Centralia Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Centralia Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Centralia Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Centralia Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Centralia 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 2.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 140 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 21 µg/L. TSI 67.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 140µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 21µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 67 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Centralia Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~45 ft est.
Surface area
404 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Centralia Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
12 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
6.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,270 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 Centralia Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Centralia Lake in Nemaha County, Kansas — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Centralia Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Kansas’s top lakes →
Follow Centralia Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Centralia Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Centralia Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mpd No 50 (completed 1990), built primarily for other on the Black Vermillion River-Tr; earth-type dam, 49 ft tall and 1,820 ft long.
- Surface area
- 404.4 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,768.6 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 11,187.3 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 12.53 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- UPPER BLACK VERMILLION WJD NO 37
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS05503 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.35 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Centralia Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM073701 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Nemaha County
Frequently asked questions about Centralia Lake
Where is Centralia Lake?
- Centralia Lake is a lake in Nemaha County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Centralia Lake?
- Centralia Lake in Nemaha County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 140 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 21 µg/L. Surface area: 404.4 acres.
Is Centralia Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Centralia Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Centralia Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Centralia Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 404.4 acres.
Explore Centralia Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Kansas
Other Lakes in Kansas
Eutrophic Lakes in Kansas
Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX5 samples · 2013
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)